


You Can't Take the Sky from Me

by My2BrownEyes



Category: Firefly, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-08-25
Packaged: 2018-01-07 23:30:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 48,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1125658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My2BrownEyes/pseuds/My2BrownEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Steve Rogers and his crew decide to take on passengers bound for Shi’ar. Three men come on board and change the fate of the Avenger crew in a way no one could foresee. Based on a request by thefigment (ff.net).</p>
<p><b>Pairings:</b> Clint & Natasha, Tony & Virginia (Pepper), Bruce & Thor, Steve & Loki</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Firefly Class Ship Avenger

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is a retelling of the Firefly pilot episode Serenity by Joss Whedon recast with the Avengers characters. The idea for this crossover is by the figment (ff. net) who suggested 98% of the recasting and helped with editing, making this story so much better. (Thank you!)
> 
> Fair warning – I don’t know how often I will be updating this story. Also any later chapters will most likely not follow the show’s plots as closely as this one does.
> 
> Marvel owns all of the Marvel characters. Joss Whedon owns Firefly and the basic plot of this piece. I am making no money off of this.

It is dark, cold. The hard desert floor is dusty and uninviting. The night sky is completely pricked with stars painfully clear against the blackness of space until the light from exploding munitions disrupts the view. Captain Steve Rogers doesn’t notice this. He is too busy desperately trying to hold the line.

“Where is our air support?!” he yells.

Corporal Natasha Romanoff glares at the radio operator.

The young soldier tries to explain, “Cap, they say they need to assess our status before sending any in.”

“Assess our status? Tell them our status is that we need air support! Now!”

Romanoff looks out over the battlefield. “Sir, that skiff is tearing us into shreds.”

“I know that, Corporal.”

“Sir,” the radio operator calls out, “they won’t move without a lieutenant’s authorization code.”

The Captain closes his eyes and says two quick prayers, one for patience and one to win. He looks out over the fallen men until he finds what he needs. Ripping a patch off the sleeve of a corpse, he hands it to the radio operator. “Congratulations. You’ve just been promoted, Lieutenant. Now get me that air support.”

He turns to two groups of soldiers. “You,” he says pointing at the first group, “go up the right flank and hold them at the valley’s entrance.” He turns to the second group. “You take the high ground and pick off as many as you can.”

“High ground’s a death trap with that skiff,” Corporal Romanoff reminds him.

“Thank you for volunteering to get rid of it,” he replies with a gleam in his eye. He looks out over his command. “Alliance thought we’d be easy pickings. Thought they’d waltz right through Avenger Valley. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we’ve changed the music. We’ve done the impossible, and that makes us mighty. Now we just have to hold on a few bars longer until our angels come from the sky and rain down some justice. So you hold. You hear me? You HOLD.” He looks each one in the eye. “Now let’s go show these Alliance bastards what we’re made of.”

The soldiers fall out with courage in their hearts.

“Nice speech, Sir,” the Corporal says flatly.

The Captain turns back to the newly appointed Lieutenant. “Get me air support. Get it now.” He grabs a rifle and beckons Romanoff to follow. 

“A rifle, Sir? You really think a rifle is gonna bring down that skiff?”

“It’s like fishing, Corporal. Use a small fish to catch a big fish. Then you use the big fish,” he motions to a large anti-aircraft gun, “to catch the whale.”

“Call me Ishmael,” she quotes.

Captain Rogers smiles. “Guess that makes me Ahab.”

It doesn’t take long for them to overpower the Alliance soldiers around the anti-aircraft gun. And soon Captain Rogers is at the controls and shooting down his white whale of a skiff. He smiles as it explodes and says a silent prayer of thanks.

“Sir?!” The Corporal’s green eyes grow large as she sees a huge chunk of the skiff coming straight at them. She grabs the lapels of the Captain’s brown coat and pulls him out of the way just before the gun is destroyed.

Captain Rogers laughs. “Well, at least we bought a little time.”

They scurry back to where they started and find the new lieutenant is dead, shot through the head. Steve curses under his breath, something Natasha has only heard him do when a life has been lost. But then they hear it, a great roar. It brings a smile to the Captain’s face that reaches his blue eyes. “Ya hear that, Corporal? That is the sound of salvation!” He looks at his friend and comrade. But instead of seeing hope and relief, he sees a stoic mask. Still, this is Natasha Romanoff, famous throughout the galaxy for not showing emotion.

“They aren’t coming,” she says as the fire in her eyes dulls.

His heart begins to break. He doesn’t want to look. He doesn’t want to know, but he can’t help himself. He turns around and sees the sky covered by Alliance ships blasting their way towards them.

That’s when he realizes they aren’t going to win. No angels are coming to rescue them. No god is answering his prayers. They’ve lost. Everything he worked so hard to accomplish is gone. What the hell is he supposed to do now?

xxx

Captain Steve Rogers wakes with a gasp. The room is pitch black, which is exactly how he likes it. He slides his hands over his face, wiping away the tears that always come when he dreams about the war.

He reaches out and fumbles with the light switch. Finally there is light, and he sits up in bed, rubbing his hands over his face again. There are no more tears. He only ever has tears during the dreams. Once he’s awake, they disappear as quickly as his hope did that night in Avenger Valley.

Then he remembers they have a job, and he smiles just a little.

Captain Rogers gets out of bed wearing only blue boxers. He pulls out the toilet and relieves his bladder before washing his hands and putting on his clothes of choice. Blue pants. Tall brown boots worn over them. Maroon shirt. Brown suspenders. Knee-length brown coat with a worn embroidered star on the back.

That coat has seen better days, and the star was once a gleaming white with crisp edges. Now it has faded to a dull grey and at least a third of the thread is missing. But it is the only thing he has left from the war, that and the shield, a sort of subtle screw you to the Alliance and all they represent. That coat has seen him through a lot of ups and downs since. It’s an old friend, and he will not part with it.

The Captain climbs up out of his quarters and into the Foredeck Hall. He heads aft to check on the engine, passing through the Galley and the Aft Hall. The sound of it humming always soothes him, and he could use some soothing about now. He hears it before he enters the room.

It doesn’t surprise him to find Tony in his faded red coveralls tinkering with the engine. Seeing the dark-haired man fiddling used to make the Captain a bit nervous, but now he knows that tinkering has made the engine at least 10 times more efficient than any other Firefly Class ship in the ‘verse.

Tony is a bit of a mystery. Truth is, if Steve really wanted to know, he could probably find out. It wouldn’t be that hard to determine if the mechanic really is the long lost son of Howard Stark. Stark used to be one of the richest men in the central planets. He founded Stark Weapons. But when the man died, he left the entire company to his son Anthony Stark, who disappeared one day and has never been found. That all happened during the war, a very inconvenient time for the Alliance contractor to lose its CEO.

If learning the truth means Steve would lose the best mechanic he’s ever seen, then he’s willing to let Tony have his secret.

“Hey, Cap. Can’t sleep, either, huh?”

“Nope.” He watches for a moment as the dark-haired man continues to check the engine. “Anything I should be concerned about?”

“We need a new compression coil. Been tellin’ ya that for months. Old one is barely hanging on. And if we don’t get a new one, we’ll be dead in the water.”

“We’ll see if we can get one after this next job.”

“Well if we don’t we’re fucked. Royally. Like worse than Virginia, whose job it is.” He rolls his brown eyes at the Captain’s scowl. “Fine. Whatever. You’re the one that brought her on board.”

“She’s a Companion, and I know she doesn’t like when you belittle her profession.”

“It’s a good thing she isn’t here to hear me then.”

Steve’s blue eyes look at the bearded mechanic. “Would you please just tell her already.”

“Tell her what?” he asks suddenly looking all innocent.

“That you’re in love with her.”

Tony points to the door. “Get out of my Engine Room before I throw you out.”

“I’m the Captain. It’s _my_ Engine Room.”

“Yeah, well, you hired me to take care of it. So let me take care of it.”

Steve doesn’t feel like arguing, so he leaves and walks through the ship to the Bridge. Every so often he touches her, liking the cold and concrete feel of her reinforced hull against his palm. She is real. This is real.

He gets to the Galley and recalls some of the meals they’ve had there. This is his favorite room on the ship, the place where they feel most like a family. He touches the frame separating the Galley from the Foredeck Hall. He passes by the various rooms where his crew sleeps. In addition to Tony, they’ve got a doctor, which has come in handy on a few occasions. They’ve got a pilot. And they’ve got Natasha. Loyal, stoic Natasha Romanoff who somehow fell in love with and married the pilot. Steve still can’t believe that happened.

The Captain walks up the short set of stairs to the Bridge. He sits in the pilot’s chair and looks at the stars and the blackness between them. This is where he loves to be, alone in the vast open darkness as far from civilization and Alliance control as he can get.

He grabs his notebook from its hiding place and begins to doodle. He starts by doing a quick sketch of the controls. This is how he always starts, and it has become a bit of a ritual. When he’s done, a quick look at the last sketch shows that the toy dinosaurs Barton keeps here have moved a bit more to the left, with the tyrannosaur now looming menacingly over the stegosaur. It makes him wonder yet again how Nat could fall in love with the guy. Well, they say opposites attract.

He turns to a blank page and starts to make lines and shading. The war must be on his mind, because he is drawing the anti-machine gun he used in Avenger Valley. A dark form is at the controls and has just blown up a skiff.

Steve closes the notebook and puts it away with the picture unfinished.

He sits back and watches the stars drift by.

“Cap!” a voice calls from behind.

“Barton,” Steve replies without turning around.

“Big day today.”

“Yep.”

“You’re bringin’ home my wife in one piece, yeah?” the dark-blond pilot asks as he takes the seat next to the Captain.

“Yep.”

Clint Barton wears a sleeveless black and purple vest and black pants. He maintains that he can fly better without sleeves. “That’s what I like about you, Cap, they way you use language to express exactly how you feel.”

“What’s our E.T.A.?” Steve asks, choosing to ignore the sarcasm.

“I slept great, Cap. Thank you for asking. How was your night?”

“Our E.T.A.”

“A couple of hours.”

“Thank you. How did you sleep last night, Barton?” the Captain asks as though genuinely concerned.

“Ha! I see what you did there.”

“You’re wife in the Cargo Bay?”

“She was headed there when last I saw her.”

“Good. Tell me when we’re there.”

Steve gets up and goes down the short set of stairs to the Foredeck Hall. Then after passing almost all the way through, he takes the stairs on the left down to the large empty space designed to hold cargo. “Nat?” he calls out.

“Checking on the suits, Sir,” her voice responds.

He finds her looking over the space suits they’ll need to scavenge the dead freighter. She wears her red hair shorter now and lets it hang loose to the bottom of her jaw.

“Saw your husband.”

“I apologize for whatever he did.”

“I appreciate that, but it’s not necessary this time.”

“Well wonders never cease.” She is satisfied with the suits and turns to look at her Captain. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Feels good to be on a job.”

“Yes it does.”

“Suits okay?”

Natasha assures him that they are fine. The Captain nods. Waiting is the worst. They hate waiting.

Steve tells her he’s gonna go check on Bruce.

After a bit of a search, the Captain finds the Doctor in the Galley having some breakfast. “ETA is less than two hours,” Steve tells the man wearing tan slacks and a purple dress shirt.

“Do I really have to go?”

“We wanna move the merchandise nice and quick. So, yeah, you have to go.”

“Why can’t Clint or Tony go?”

Steve is trying to be patient. He swears they go through this before every job where Bruce comes along. “Clint needs to fly the ship, and Tony needs to be sure she is fly-worthy. Any other questions?”

“I could fly her,” Bruce replies.

“I don’t pay you to fly her. I pay Clint to fly her. I pay you to patch us up and help us with the occasional job. We still gotta talk about this?”

Bruce shakes his head. He hates going out there. He’s afraid, afraid the monster inside him will decide to come out at the worst possible moment. But he also knows the Hulk isn’t stupid enough to appear while he’s floating in space. That would kill them both, and if Hulk is anything he is a survivor.

“Good.”

“Cap? I hope you only have to pay me for one of those things today.”

“Bruce? That is something I wish for every gorram day.”

xxx

Bruce, Natasha, and Steve are in the lifeless vessel that sits among the debris of what appears to have been some sort of altercation. What happened and why is not something that concerns them. They have a job to do. Their minds are on that.

Nat calls the Captain over. She’s found the goods. There are six large crates worth. She and Steve exchange a smile. When the Captain goes to give that same smile to the Doctor, he realizes the man isn’t there.

“Shit. Banner? Where’d you get to?”

“Tony needs a part. Thought I’d look for one since we’re here.”

“We ain’t here to salvage parts. We’re here for these here crates. Get your ass back over here so we can load these up.”

“Uh, Captain,” Clint’s voice breaks in. “We have company.”

“What kind of company?”

The pilot looks out of the windows and sees a massive object that looks like a couple of skyscrapers floating through space. “Alliance,” Clint replies. “You want I should do the thing?”

“Have Tony go dark. Let’s see if they pass us by first. Would be a shame to waist the thing if they end up paying us no mind.”

“On it,” Tony’s voice answers. Avenger’s lights go out, and the ship gets eerily quiet. The mechanic hates doing this to his baby. (Yes it’s Steve’s ship, but it’s still Tony’s baby.)

Everyone goes to radio silence and waits.

The monolith outside glides silently, starting to pass them by. But then it scans the ship, and Clint knows they’re in trouble.

“We’re being scanned,” the sleeveless pilot announces.

Steve closes his eyes. Why can’t these things ever be easy? “Cry, baby, cry,” he says.

“Make your mama sigh,” Barton finishes as he presses a series of buttons that bring to life a garbage can looking thing that sends out a distress call.

A moment later, the huge Alliance ship starts to move in the direction of the ‘Cry Baby’. As soon as it is obvious they won’t be coming back, Clint gives the all clear, and Tony turns all of the systems back on.

Steve, Natasha, and Bruce float two crates each back to Avenger. As soon as they’re on board, the massive door is closed, and the gravity field is turned back on. Tony and Clint both appear at the top of the stairs as the Captain checks the contents of one of the crates.

The seal is good. The nutritional bars should still be edible. He picks one up and notices the very prominent Alliance seal that covers the gold foil. The Captain curses inside his head as he puts back the bar, closing and locking the crate.

“Something wrong?” Natasha asks. There is something off about what the Captain just did, but she doesn’t quite know why.

“Nope. Just wanna get these into their hiding place and be on our way.”

Tony calls down to Bruce. “Did ya get my part?”

“No, sorry. No time,” the Doctor replies.

The mechanic watches as they load the crates into one of the many smuggling bays on the ship. He seriously hopes they get some real food and won’t have to have anything like that for dinner.

xxx

Virginia can tell this one isn’t going to last long. She knows this as soon as he walks into her shuttle. It isn’t his youth or the way he fidgets slightly. It’s the way he sits as though any sudden movement could set something off. Perhaps she’s wrong. Perhaps he’ll surprise her.

He doesn’t.

Just 30 seconds with him inside her she tries to slow him down. It doesn’t work. She goes to Plan B, moaning and writhing as though he is fulfilling her. He has so little experience that she doesn’t bother putting too much acting behind it. And then he is done, breathing heavily onto her neck.

He rolls off her, still panting.

She pants, too, just to make him feel better. Virginia had hoped he would surprise her. But she realizes with a sigh there is only one man who surprises her anymore. Tony. Smart, witty, stupid, egotistical Tony.

She gets up and puts on a robe before serving the man some wine. He gulps it down. She just smiles.

He is dressed and saying good-bye. “That was most satisfactory.”

“I’m pleased that you enjoyed it,” she replies.

“I hope you will let me know next time you are back.”

“I certainly will.” Right now, though, she just wants him to leave.

He gives her an awkward nod, turns, and walks away.

She closes the door. Walking towards a curtain of silk, she moves it aside and sits at the shuttle’s controls. A few buttons are pushed.

“Firefly Class Ship Avenger at your service. Is that you, Virginia?” a familiar voice says.

“Sure is, Clint. Just got done with my last client. What’s your E.T.A.?”

“We should be touching down in about half an hour. Sending you the dock information now.”

“Thanks.”

“Sure will be nice to have your beauty and grace back on board.”

Virginia laughs. “Don’t let Natasha hear you say that.”

“Not for me,” Clint corrects. “For the others. I don’t like the way they all look at my wife when you’re away.”

“Oh, I see. You’re afraid she’s going to dump you for one of them. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“Glad to hear it. See you soon.”

“You sure will. Shuttle 2 out.”

xxx

“That Virginia?” Natasha asks her husband.

“Yep. You listenin’ in on my conversations?”

“Of course.” She goes and sits on his lap, her legs straddling him as she faces him. “You know you have nothing to worry about with me, right?”

“I know.” He gives her a soft kiss.

A new voice comes. “I swear every time I come in here you two are making out,” Tony complains jokingly. “Has Pepper checked in?”

“She has. She’s meeting us on the docks,” Clint tells him.

“Good. Carry on,” he says and leaves.

Clint looks into his wife’s green eyes. “Think those two will ever admit they love each other.”

“Nope. Their both too stubborn to admit it first.”

“I’m so glad I’m not stubborn.”

“Me, too,” she says with a tiny smile and kisses him.

Captain Rogers walks up the short staircase to the Bridge. As soon as he sees his pilot and first officer kissing he turns around. “Virginia know we’re coming?” he asks.

“Yes, Sir,” Clint replies.

“Good.” He leaves.

Clint giggles. “Who knew it was so easy to embarrass the Captain?”

“You did,” she reminds him.

“Okay. Who knew it could be so much fun to embarrass him?”

Tasha shrugs. “I did.”

“You certainly did.” He pulls her into another kiss.

xxx

Avenger’s main ramp opens on Kree. In this part of the planet, in this part of the city, the ground is hard and dusty. The crew walks out, blinking against the brightness of the sun.

“Barton, Romanoff, you’re with me,” Steve orders as he straps his shield to his back. “Tony, see what you can do about supplying the ship.”

“All right, Cap, but that’s going to be difficult with basically no money.”

“Do what you can. Bruce, get us some passengers.”

“Passengers?”

“Yep, them that can pay.”

“You got it.” He goes to get a chair and brings it outside. Then Bruce programs the information kiosk in front of the ship with their destination and estimated arrival day and time.

The Doctor sits and watches the people walk by. He likes to people-watch. 

Most people walk by without looking at anything. The ones wanting transport check out the information kiosk first then look at the ship. Some then check the cortex for more information on the ship. The ones that only look at the ships are the kids, their faces full of wonder that anything that large can fly up in the air. They ask questions sometimes, and he answers as best he can. There aren’t many kids here today, though. But there is someone far more interesting coming towards him.

He’s dressed like a missionary in plain clothes with a high-collar shirt. Recruiters from the other ships are calling to him, trying to get him to go with them.

“You going on a trip, grandpa? Need safe passage? You just found it. We’re cheap and clean. Best ship in the ‘verse.”

“I never married,” the man replies.

“What?”

“I’m not a grandpa. And I’m really not that old,” he says as he passes them. The next guy practically assaults him, speaking loudly about the number of berths left and who need not apply.

He finally gets to Avenger and looks at it as he walks by. He stops and gazes at the ship as a smile creeps across his face.

“You’re coming with us,” Bruce says conversationally.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re looking at the ships not the destinations. And the way you’re looking at her, you’re going to pick this one.”

“And why would I pick this one?”

Bruce just smiles.

He stops and looks more carefully at the large mass of metal in front of him. “Doesn’t look like much,” he states plainly though inside he is doing a happy dance.

“She’s got it where it counts.”

“You know I sailed in a Firefly a lifetime ago. Not an aught three, though. Didn’t have the extenders, tended to shake.”

“Avenger doesn’t shake,” Bruce assures him.

“Avenger. Interesting name.” He gestures towards ship. “The aught three still use the trace compression block?”

“Yep. If you want specs, you can talk to our engineer. He should be back soon.” Bruce takes a closer look at the man with the serene face, thin lips, and receding hairline. “Out of curiosity, how come you don’t care where you’re going?”

“Who says I don’t care?” he asks before smiling and saying, “’Cause how you get there is the worthier part.”

“Missionary?”

“Shepherd, from the Southdown Abbey. Coulson. I’m called Coulson. Been out of the world for a spell. Thought I’d walk in it for a while, bring the word to them that need it. Maybe lend a hand.”

“I’m Bruce. You’ve met Avenger. She’s the smoothest ride from here to Shi’ar for those that can pay. Can you…pay?”

“Not a lot. Don’t exactly make much money in the abbey, but I think we can come to terms.” He pulls a small wooden box from an inside pocket as he walks towards Bruce. He opens it, revealing a mound of aromatic tea leaves.

The Doctor’s eyes go wide. He takes a deep whiff. “Oh, brother,” he murmurs as the smells tickle his nose.

“I’m pretty sure we aren’t related.”

xxx

Steve, Natasha, and Clint walk through Fury’s place passing armed men as they make their way to the back office. 

Once inside the pilot takes a position in the back corner with a clear view of the entire room.

Nick Fury sits behind a beat up desk wearing a dust-covered black suit and an eyepatch. “Well, well, well, the mighty Captain returns. You’re late,” he says.

“You’re lying,” the Captain replies. Everyone tenses.

Fury leans forward. “What did you just say to me?”

“I said ‘you’re lying’. You are well aware that we landed a full two hours before we planned to with all the goods you sent us after intact and ready to be picked up. So you starting out saying we’re late means you want us on the defensive right up front. And that means something’s gone wrong. It didn’t go wrong on our end, so why don’t we start again with you telling us what’s up?”

Fury can’t help but smile at that. Captain Rogers is smart, smarter than most people take him for. He runs a hand over his bald head. “You’re later than I’d like.”

“Well I’m sorry to hear that.”

The one-eyed man holds up a sheet of digital paper. “If you had gotten here sooner, I might have been able to beat the bulletin that came up saying a rogue vessel, classification ‘Firefly’, was spotted pulling illegal salvage from a derelict transport.”

Steve notes that the actual ship wasn’t identified, so it won’t lead to him.

“No, but the government stamp on every molecule of the cargo might.”

Natasha looks at Steve through the corner of her eyes. So that’s what was wrong. Great. Why couldn’t anything ever be easy?

“Not my problem,” Steve says. “I didn’t pick the cargo.”

“And I didn’t flash my ass at the gorram law!” Nick’s eye is wide, almost wild. “No deal,” he enunciates.

“That’s not fair,” Natasha says.

Nick shrugs. “Fairness is not really a concern in crime.”

“True enough,” Steve says reasonably. “Thing is, you and I both know you can still unload the goods. So I can’t help thinking there’s something else at work here.”

The one-eyed man leans back. “I like you, Rogers. I don’t care what anyone else says.”

“I don’t care if you like me. I just want to close the deal.”

“What were you in the war? That big war you failed to win...you were a Captain, right? Captain America – poster boy for the ‘America Program’. Fought for one side then for the other with that shield on your back. You shoulda stuck to the Alliance, Kid. Maybe you woulda had an actual life, big tough veteran like you.”

“I remember you fighting right alongside us, Sir. Hell, I remember you leading the charge against the Alliance. Can’t help but wonder what happened.”

“I faced reality, let the war go. Sometimes I think you’re still fighting it.”

“Sometimes I am but not today. Today I’m here to do business. So let’s do business.”

“Try one of the border planets, Captain,” Nick suggests. “They’re a lot more desperate there. Of course they might kill you, but that’s better than the alternative. If you stay here, I just know the Alliance’ll track you down. I just have that feeling.”

Natasha’s stomach turns. She wouldn’t put it past Fury to make a deal with the Alliance selling them out. And to think she used to take orders from that man. There was a reason she backed Steve when the two of them had a falling out. Steve was the honorable man Fury only pretended to be.

Clint waits in the corner ready to whip out his bow at the first sign of a fight.

Steve nods, unhappiness written all over his face. “Wheel keeps turning, Nick.”

“That only matters to the people on the rim, Rogers.”

xxx

Back outside, Clint starts the conversation. “Not that I’m complaining, but why didn’t we kill Fury?”

“We might need him later,” Steve says. “Also, we’d be dead. Don’t get paid if you’re dead.”

“Can’t get paid when you walk away with no money, neither.”

“We still got the goods,” Natasha points out. “We can sell ‘em elsewhere, on Shi’ar.”

“Shi’ar’s too big,” Cap notes. “Alliance is everywhere. They could just be waiting for us.”

Clint asks, “You really think Fury would sell us out to the Feds?” 

Natasha’s glare is enough of an answer. “Alliance catches us with government goods, we lose the ship.”

“That’s never going to happen,” Steve replies, his voice low and menacing.

The red-head grabs his arm and stops him. “We could just dump it, Sir.”

“Are you kidding?” Clint asks. “We haven’t had a job in weeks. Tony needs parts. We need fuel. We can’t go on taking piddly jobs. There are other ways of losing the ship besides Alliance.” He had to say it. He doesn’t care that it makes Natasha glare at him like a traitor.

“Clint’s right,” Steve says. “The last two jobs we barely broke even. We’ve got nothing saved, and passengers won’t help near enough. We need to get paid for this cargo, or we’re dead in the water.”

Natasha knows he’s right. She also knows she’ll get an earful from Clint about only trusting the Captain’s opinion. She takes a deep breath. “So we do what Fury suggests…try the border planets?”

Steve nods as he starts walking again. “I’m thinking New Berlin, maybe talk to Mystique.”

“Cap, we don’t wanna deal with Mystique,” Nat reminds him.

“Why not?”

“Well, to put it plainly, she shot you.”

“Just the one time,” he replies.

“We should find someone else. Carol Danvers.”

“She can’t afford it.”

“Rocket Racoon.”

“He won’t touch it. You want me to run down the list? Wade Wilson is brainblown. Scott Summers is dead.”

“He’s dead?” Nat asks.

“Town got hit by Chitauri. Burned it right down.”

Clint shakes his head. “I’m not going anywhere near Chitauri territory. I like my skin right where it is, thank you very much.”

“New Berlin is the closest and the safest. It’s been a long while since Mystique shot me, and it was over a perfectly legitimate conflict of interest. I hold no grudge. And,” he adds the most important part, “she owns half that damn moon now. She can afford it. More importantly, she just might need it.” He looks up at Avenger and hopes like hell Mystique needs it. “Besides, it’s not like we have a choice.”

Steve sees Bruce welcoming a passenger. The man is sickly looking, a yellowish green. “Mortimer ‘Toad’ Toynbee,” he says shaking the Doctor’s hand. He stumbles a bit before getting on board.

The Captain sighs. “Just gotta keep our heads down and get through this, hope there ain’t no more surprises.” Just as he says that last word, he notices a large box being loaded onto the ship by Tony.

A huge man with arms each the size of a small tree is watching it with a critical stare. He has long blond hair, a trim beard, and ice blue eyes. His suit exudes money and power as does his posture. There is a hammer hanging from his waist.

“Please be careful with that,” he says in a somewhat deep voice, the accent only reinforcing the air of privilege.

Bruce makes the introductions. “Steve, this is Thor.” He turns to the large muscly man and smiles. “This is our Captain.”

The two men size each other up. Steve likes the look of money but there’s something that makes him nervous, a look in the eye perhaps. He doesn’t usually deal with people of that social class, and he can’t help feeling a little inferior. Okay, a lot inferior. Or it could be the hammer, an unusual weapon to say the least.

“Captain Rogers,” the bearded man says in a polite but cold manner.

“Welcome aboard.” He turns to Bruce. “That all we got?”

“One more already inside,” Bruce replies.

They all go inside the ship. Nat and Steve hang back just a little. She can’t help herself. “So now we got a boatload of citizens right on top of our stolen cargo. This is going to be fun,” she ends sarcastically.

“There’s no way they can find that compartment even if they were looking. We’ll be fine.”

“Famous last words.”

“Look, if anyone gets nosy, you just, you know, shoot them. But nicely,” he adds. “In the leg or something. And then apologize.”

She just stares at him.

They hear a reverberating sound that can only mean one thing. Clint confirms it when his voice echoes from the Bridge over the ship’s address system. “The Ambassador has returned.”

Natasha turns to Steve. “We’ve got a full house, Captain.”

Steve takes a breath. “Bruce, lock it up!”

Bruce raises his hand in acknowledgement. “All aboard,” he says quietly as he closes the ramp.

“Excuse me,” a timid voice says to Steve.

“Yes?” He turns to see the third passenger. The man is slight and unassuming.

“I couldn’t help notice the shield on your back. I remember that shield. Are you Captain America?”

Steve looks directly at the man in front of him. “Captain America is dead,” he replies and walks away.

xxx

Steve, Natasha, and Bruce are showing the passengers around the ship. They are in the mess hall listening to the Captain. “Meals are taken up here in the dining and kitchen area. You may hear us calling it the mess hall. You’re welcome to eat what there is at any time. What there is is pretty standard fare – protein in every color. We have sit-down meals that you’re welcome to join. The next is at 1800.”

“Shepherd Coulson has agreed to help me prepare something,” Bruce says.

The Captain’s eyes snap to the man pointed out by the Doctor. “You a Shepherd?” It almost sounds like an interrogation.

Coulson smiles softly. “And here I thought the outfit gave it away. That’s not going to be a problem, is it, Captain?” He puts an emphasis on the last word as though it has significant meaning.

“Nope.” He changes his focus to the large man Bruce keeps smiling at then the smaller sallow one. “Like I said, you’re welcome to come here at any time. Apart from that, I do have to ask you to stay in the passenger dorm while we’re in the air. That means the Bridge, Engine Room, and Cargo Bay are off limits.”

Thor furrows his brow. “Some of my personal effects are in the Cargo Bay. I require access to them.”

Steve licks his lips. “I figure you all probably have luggage there. We’ll go down now so you can get what you need. Unfortunately that isn’t the only inconvenience. We’ve just been ordered by the Alliance to drop off some medical supplies on New Berlin. It’s the fourth moon of Deutschelia. A bit out of our way, I know, but we should have you on Shi’ar within a day of our scheduled arrival. Hope that’s okay with everyone.”

“Fine with me,” Coulson replies. “I’m not in any hurry.”

“What medical supplies?” Thor asks.

“I honestly didn’t ask,” the Captain answers.

Bruce steps in. “Plasma, insulin, whatever they are running out of.”

Steve adds, “Alliance says jump…”

“Fine,” Thor says unhappily trying to read the man’s face.

Mortimer clears his throat. “I’m supposed to be meeting my sick cousin. I only have a few days to see her.”

“I wish there was another way,” Natasha offers.

“Oh, don’t apologize. My cousin is as mean as a rattlesnake. I don’t mind the delay at all. In fact, if there are any other moons you need to stop at, or maybe we could fly really slow…?”

Everyone except Thor and the Captain chuckles. The two blonds continue to examine each other, silently trying to figure out what type of man they are faced with.

“Another thing,” Captain Rogers continues. “Bruce here has a medical condition that makes it very dangerous if he gets angry or stressed. So please do not upset him.” There is no humor in his eyes.

“How dangerous?” Thor asks.

“You do not want to find out.”

Bruce looks down uncomfortably.

Clint is standing at the entrance closest to the Bridge. “One last thing, sorry,” he says interrupting. “The Firefly is a solid ship, but she is older. We’ve been having some interference with the aeronautics working with some of the new frequencies. Nothing to be too concerned with but we do ask that you stay off the Cortex at least until we get to New Berlin. We should be able to correct the problem there.”

“Nat, why don’t you take them down to the Cargo Bay?” the Captain requests.

As the others leave, Steve asks Clint if he was able to contact Mystique. “Hasn’t answered back yet,” the pilot replies. “I told Tony where we’re going. Know what he said?”

“No. What?”

“Didn’t she shoot Cap that one time?” he quotes.

“Funny, I don’t remember you all being this concerned when I was actually shot.”

Clint shrugs and goes back to the Bridge.

Steve goes down to the Cargo Bay where the passengers are collecting some of their things. Mortimer has spilled some of the items from one of his cases and is hurriedly trying to put them back. Thor is carefully putting some items into a square metal case as he eyes the large box he brought on board warily. He does not like the thought of leaving it unattended, and he does not trust the Captain of this vessel to keep it safe. Shepherd Coulson is handing Bruce a small wooden box that has the Doctor smiling from ear to ear.

“Is there a reason the hull has been reinforced?” Coulson asks noticing the extra layer of metal.

“We find it helpful,” Bruce says vaguely.

“Oh? Wouldn’t that make the ship heavier?”

“I guess.”

Tony comes down to let the Captain know the engine is running smoothly but that they still need a new compression coil. “I know, Tony. We’ll get one when we get to Shi’ar.”

Virginia gracefully walks down the stairs from her shuttle dressed in bright coral satin. Her hair is coiled into an intricate bun.

Steve and Tony smile up at her. “The Ambassador graces us with her presence,” Tony announces.

Everyone looks up to see the lovely woman with the strawberry-blonde hair.

“Hello, Steve. Tony,” she adds with a slight nod. “I see some new faces. Passengers?”

“Can’t get anything past you,” Tony replies.

“Hey, you,” Bruce says with a lopsided smile, happy to end the conversation with the Shepherd.

“Hey, you,” Virginia responds. Bruce is like the older brother she never had. She feels safe around him.

Tony smiles. “Ambassador, this is Shepherd Coulson.”

She takes his hand. “I honestly don’t think we’ve ever had a preacher on board before.” She looks at Steve and Tony for a moment for some sort of reaction. The Captain walks away, his attention back on the other two passengers.

“I’m as surprised as you. I didn’t think there would be a state official on board. Ambassador,” he bows.

Tony laughs as Bruce shakes his head.

“I’m missing something funny,” the Shepherd infers.

“No. Not funny,” Bruce notes. “She isn’t an actual Ambassador.”

“She’s a whore,” Tony says bluntly.

“Excuse you,” Virginia replies.

“She’s a Companion,” Bruce clarifies. “Which is better than being an Ambassador.”

“She’s a glorified whore,” Tony says again. “But she’s our glorified whore, so…” He shrugs. “Still won’t service us, though, no matter how many times I ask.”

“I told you no freebies, and you can’t afford me.”

“You have no idea,” he says wistfully. He turns to Coulson. “I hope that’s not a problem for you, preacher man.”

The Shepherd is obviously flustered. “No that’s…fine. I am certainly in no position to judge.”

“It’s fine,” she says. “I mainly keep to myself anyway. Don’t want to overexcite Tony with all my whoring.” Virginia turns to walk back to her shuttle.

“Hey, Pepper, don’t you want to meet the rest?”

She closes her eyes for a moment before turning around. “Maybe you should make sure they want to meet me first.”

Bruce goes to walk her back. “So how many marriage proposals this time?”

“Just one. I think I’m losing my touch.”

“Anyone I need to beat up?”

“Nope. I’m good…unless you’re willing to beat up a certain engineer.”

“I know he deserves it, but I don’t think Cap would approve.”

xxx

Dinner time. Bruce and Shepherd Coulson have cooked a special meal that includes salad, grilled vegetables, and pasta in addition to the protein mush that they usually eat.

“This is amazing,” Natasha notes as she looks over the various items.

Coulson smiles. “It’s not much. I had a garden at the Abbey and figured I should bring in what I could.”

“It is most kind of you to share, Son of Coul,” Thor says.

The table laughs. “I like that,” Tony says with a smirk. “Son of Coul.”

Natasha decides to make a plate for Clint as Coulson talks about the importance of spices.

After everyone has served themselves, the Shepherd turns to the Captain and asks, “Would you mind if I say grace?”

Steve’s face hardens minutely. “Only if you say it out loud.” He looks at the man of God daring him to say it anyway. When nothing happens, he picks up his fork and starts to eat.

Coulson is beginning to understand. The Captain had faith once and lost it. He bows his head to pray silently. Bruce, Mortimer, and Natasha do the same.

“Does this happen often?” Thor asks. “The government commandeering your ship, telling you where to go?”

“That’s what governments are for,” Steve replies.

Mortimer swallows. “Delivering medical supplies to border planets. Seems like a worthy cause.”

“Just glad to be helping,” Bruce says. “Medical supplies can be hard to come by.”

“I hear a lot of the border moons are in bad shape,” the passenger continues.

“Some are. Some aren’t,” Natasha replies. “Just like the central planets, they were terraformed to be as close to Earth-That-Was as possible.”

Tony takes up the information. “Atmosphere, gravity, water. Once they feel it’s ready, they drop off some settlers with blankets, some tools, maybe a herd or two. Sometimes they make it. Sometimes they don’t.”

Thor looks at the man in the purple shirt. “Then it is good we are helping, yes?”

“Yes,” Bruce replies allowing his eyes to linger on the handsome face.

“You are a doctor?” the blond passenger asks.

“That’s right.”

“May I ask why you serve on a ship rather than a community?”

“A ship is a community,” Bruce explains. “Besides, I do better in space than on land. Not as stressful. You…seem fit.”

Thor smiles, and it’s as though the room becomes twice as bright. “I am. I have to be. I work in security,” he explains.

“Really. Are you going to Shi’ar on business or…”

“I am looking for work. I heard Shi’ar is growing.”

Bruce smiles at him. “Guess we’re kind of in the same business. You protect people. I try to heal them.”

“Sounds like Bruce wants to heal you,” Tony says wiggling his eyebrows.

The Doctor’s eyes and smile drop.

“Tony.” The Captain’s voice is strong, a verbal slap in the face. “You apologize.”

“What. It was just a joke.”

“I said apologize.”

The silence only adds to the tension in the room.

The Captain gives one last warning. “Tony, you will treat the people on this crew with respect. That includes Bruce, and that includes Virginia. Now apologize or leave this table.”

Tony looks at his friend, the one person he can talk science with and sees that he really did hurt the man’s feelings. “I’m sorry, Bruce. I’m an idiot. But you know that already.”

Bruce nods but remains quiet for the rest of the meal.

The engineer comments on the food, how delicious it is, what a good job Bruce and Shepherd Coulson did. “Pepper would probably really enjoy it. Too bad she isn’t here.”

“I’m making a plate for Clint,” Natasha tells him. “Maybe you should make one for Virginia.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” he says.

“I’d like to take it if you don’t mind,” Coulson tells him.

“Um.” There is a worried look on Tony’s face. He doesn’t want Pepper to get a lecture but realizes she can not only hold her own against this guy but would probably win, too. “Sure.”

xxx

Virginia is giving herself a sponge bath. There are no showers on Avenger. It’s fine. She doesn’t mind.

Her back is to the door as she runs the wet sponge over her shoulder and under her arms.

There is a knock.

“Come in,” she calls fully expecting it to be Bruce or possibly Clint or Steve. All three are such gentlemen she knows they would never try to peek. Tony, on the other hand, wouldn’t knock.

“If I’m intruding…”

The Shepherd. Of course. “Not at all. Please come in. I was expecting you,” she says as she continues to wash her breasts.

“You were? I wasn’t.”

“So is this the change-your-sinful-ways-or-you’ll-burn-in-hell lecture or the I-can-save-you one?”

“Neither. It’s the I’m-bringing-you-dinner one. If you really want one of the other two, though, I could probably wing it.”

Virginia turns her head and sees the plate of food in his hand. She quickly puts a robe on saying, “Sorry. I’m used to more judgment less compassion by holy men.”

“Oh, well, I wouldn’t call myself holy,” he replies as he hands her the plate.

“Thank you. It looks delicious.”

“Tony thought you would like it.”

“A whore’s gotta eat.”

Coulson shifts uncomfortably. “He shouldn’t have called you that.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve called him worse.”

“He seemed genuine in his concern if that helps at all. You know, he did the same thing with the Doctor. He completely belittled him then seemed really concerned that he had hurt the man’s feelings. It’s very odd.”

“Yes, that is Tony in one word all right. Odd.”

“That intrigues you?” he asks.

She looks at him, takes in his quiet demeanor. “Yes,” she replies. “You?”

“Honestly? I find the entire crew intriguing. The Captain, for example. I’m right, aren’t I. He is Captain America.”

She nods. “He was. He’s a good man. He’s just lost his way.”

“He doesn’t seem interested in finding it,” Coulson notes. “He lost his faith somewhere along the way. I feel like I could help him rediscover it.”

Virginia gives him a sympathetic smile. “War does cruel things to people. It might be best to just leave him be, Shepherd.”

“Please, call me Phil.”

xxx

Steve gets up from the toilet relishing the feeling of an empty bowel. It’s the little things he finds pleasure in nowadays. He kicks the toilet closed as he fastens his pants.

The speaker in his room crackles. “Uh, Cap, you might wanna get up here.”

The Captain practically flies up the ladder and runs to the Bridge. “What is it?”

Clint is studying a screen with flashing lights. “Signal. Someone just went on the Cortex, hailed the nearest Alliance Cruiser.”

“Shit. Tell me you scrambled it.”

“Like the finest eggs. Don’t know how much got through, though. Some did. Alliance will be on our asses and soon.”

“Ni ta ma de. Tianxia suoyoude ren. Dou gaisi.”

“As much as I agree, we still got us a mole on board.”

Steve runs down to the Cargo Bay and finds Thor bending over his large box, checking something.

“Forget your toothpaste?”

Thor turns and gets punched in the face. His head turns from the impact.

“What the…?” The Captain, surprised that his first punch didn’t knock the guy on his ass, punches him again. The result this time is a small trickle of blood running down the corner of the large man’s mouth.

“Are you finished, little man?”

“What’d you tell them?”

“I do not understand. What did I tell whom?”

Steve draws his gun and points it at the security expert. “I got no time for games. What do they know?”

“I do not understand you,” Thor says seriously.

“Understand this, if you don’t tell me what you sent, I will shoot you right between the eyes.”

“You are insane.”

“And you’re a gorram fed.”

Coulson’s calm voice breaks in. “Sorry to break it to you, Captain, but you’ve got the wrong man.”

Both blonds turn in surprise to see the Shepherd looking beyond them. They turn to look in the other direction and see Mortimer pointing a gun at the Captain.

“Great. Just great,” Steve murmurs.

“Drop the gun, Captain Rogers,” Mortimer, aka Toad, orders.

Steve drops the gun. “This is not my best day ever.”

Toad swings the gun so that it is now pointing at the larger man. “Thor Odinson, you are bound by law to stand down.”

The Captain looks from Mortimer to Thor and back again. “Wait, you want him? Oh. Right. Hey, is there a reward?”

“Not for you,” Toad replies. He turns to Thor. “Get on the ground. Get on the ground now!”

The muscular man moves his hand to the handle of his weapon of choice. “Lawman, you are making a dreadful mistake.”

Steve looks at the blond. “Personally, I think you outta do what he says. He is liable to shoot you if you don’t.”

Thor smiles. “He can try.”

“I think everyone should calm down,” Coulson says, moving forward slowly.

Toad licks his lips with an exceptionally long tongue. “Not your business, Shepherd.”

“Look, the man isn’t going anywhere. I mean, it isn’t as though he can just go outside.”

“He’s right,” Steve notes as he begins reaching for his gun. “We can hold Lord Fauntleroy in a passenger cell until we’re ready to hand him over.”

Mortimer points the gun back at the Captain. “Don’t you dare touch that. You think I’m a total idiot? You’re transporting a wanted fugitive. And do you really expect me to believe you’re transporting medical supplies to New Berlin?”

Steve freezes almost in reach of his gun. “Well that does change things a bit.” He curses himself for leaving his shield in his room. Still, he starts doing the calculations in his head. Better to reach for the gun, rush the fed, or wait it out?

Coulson keeps walking forward. “We are reaching new heights of stupidity here. Let’s just calm down.”

“You know what? Talk all ya want. There’s a cruiser en route. That’s twenty minutes you’ve got.”

“Might be less,” Steve notes.

“Oh, right. Threatening me is exactly what you should be doing.”

Coulson continues to move forward. “For God’s sake –“

“You think I won’t shoot a Shepherd? Back off!”

Steve grabs Thor’s arm. “Just take him,” he tells the fed.

“Get your hands off me,” the large man responds.

Toad is starting to freak out. “Stop moving!”

“What the hell?” Tony manages to get out before the sound of a gunshot reverberates through the air. He steps back stunned as Bruce walks up behind him. “Why is everyone…?” He looks down, sees the red beginning to stain the left side of his stomach. “Shit,” he says then collapses back into Bruce’s arms.

Steve rolls onto the floor, grabbing his gun. Just as he aims for Mortimer, he sees Coulson jab the guy in the throat and disarm him in one quick, fluid motion. Then the Shepherd hits the back of the fed’s head with the gun’s handle. Toad crumples to the ground.

Thor stands hammer in hand stunned at what he just witnessed.

Suddenly Natasha is there, gun drawn and walking purposely towards Mortimer. “Get out of the way,” she tells the Shepherd.

Coulson holds up his palm to her. “This man is no longer a threat.”

Virginia comes running down the stairs. “What happened?” She sees Tony lying against Bruce, blood staining his shirt. “Tony!” She runs towards him, drops to her knees, and cradles his head in her arms. “Don’t you die on me. Don’t you dare die on me,” she chants.

“Out of the way, preacher,” Natasha orders, her eyes ablaze with cold fire.

“Not gonna happen.”

“Natasha.” Steve orders, “Tie him up.”

“He shot Tony.”

“I know. And he will answer for it. But for now tie him up.”

Nat holsters her weapon with a scowl and goes to get duct tape.

“Bruce?” Steve asks. “What’s the situation?”

“Situation sucks,” Tony says from the floor. “It also hurts like a son of a bitch.”

“He’s losing a lot of blood, Cap.” He starts asking Tony questions, tells him not to fall asleep, tells him they have to move him to the Infirmary. He’s putting all of his focus on his friend, thinking about all of the things he’ll need to do. It helps to keep the fear at bay.

Clint’s voice comes over the loudspeaker. “Cap? We’ve just been hailed by a Cruiser. Ordered to stay on course and prepare to dock for prisoner transfer.”

Bruce and Tony look at the Captain.

“Run,” Thor commands, his hammer still in his hand.

Steve points his gun at the passenger. “Ain’t taken orders from you. We give you up, my problems go away.”

“Are you really so naïve, Captain Rogers? Do you think they will just let you go? You give me up, and I will tell them you were my partners. They will board you. And do you know what the Alliance will do to all of you if you are boarded? Now run.”

“Cap,” Bruce calls as he rises from the floor. His hands are balled into fists. “Run.”

Tony, close to losing consciousness, shuts his eyes and whispers, “Run. Run, Cap. Run.” His eyes roll to the back of his head.

“Damn it.”

Natasha stops tying up Toad to look at her Captain. “No way feds are letting us walk after knocking out one of their own.”

“So we stick them both in a shuttle and let the feds have them.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Thor says through gritted teeth, a gleam of excitement in his eyes as his nostrils flare.

“I need help here,” Bruce says as he tries to pick up Tony. He’s trying hard to keep it together, but it’s only slowing down what is quickly becoming inevitable.

“What are we doin’, Cap?” Natasha asks.

“We’re running,” Virginia says as she grabs the engineer’s legs. “Tony said to run.”

The Captain goes through the various scenarios in his head. None of them are any good. He looks at Bruce, sees just how on edge he is. He nods. “Change course.”

Natasha hits the com. “Clint, we’re running. Change course and go for hard burn.”

Steve holsters his gun as Thor runs to help the Doctor. He easily picks Tony up allowing Bruce to apply pressure to the wound. Virginia leads the way to the Infirmary.

Thor puts Tony down on the bed in the center of the small room. Bruce turns on the lights and immediately starts working. It’s good to work. It’s bad that Tony is hurt, but it’s good that he has something to occupy his mind.

Steve grabs the blond man’s sleeve. “You and me need to have a little chat.”

“Not now,” the Doctor says and starts to order Thor around. Soon the Captain is helping, too, as Virginia holds a mask over Tony’s nose.

Bruce pulls out the bullet, uses a laser to sew up the damage he sees in the engineer’s liver. He doesn’t want to seal up the hole in the skin until he’s sure Tony is stable. “That’s it. That’s all we can do for now.”

They wash their hands.

“Will he live?” Steve asks.

“Hope so.” It’s not a great answer, but it’s the only one he has right now.

“You okay?” the Captain asks.

Bruce nods. “I’m better. Thanks.”

“What the hell happened?” Virginia asks.

“Good question,” the Captain replies. “Let’s go find out.” He strides out of the Infirmary and heads towards the cargo area.

It takes a moment for Thor to realize what is happening. “No!” He rushes after the Captain.

Steve is already at the big blue mystery box and pressing buttons.

“Stay away from that,” Thor demands.

Bruce rushes to stand in front of him. “Don’t. You don’t want to upset me.”

“But you don’t understand.” There is fear and anguish in the blue eyes.

Natasha arrives and holds a gun on Thor. “Fed is secure. Shepherd ’s with him. What are we doing?”

“Pretending it’s Christmas,” the Captain replies as Clint and Virginia appear. He pushes a release lever that unlatches the four corners of the box. He pushes against the top. It doesn’t budge.

“Please,” Thor begs, tears in his eyes.

Steve shoves the top, sending it crashing to the floor. Smoke rises from inside the box. “Now let’s see what a man like you will kill for.” He steps forward and looks inside. There is a moment where he has to wait for the smoke to clear. Then a shape emerges and colors, silver exterior surrounding a shape both light and dark. And then he sees it, a young man naked and curled up in a fetal position. “Huh.”

Thor shoves Bruce aside and rushes to the box.

“You sick son of a bitch,” Steve says quietly. “And here I almost liked you.”

“Doctor,” Thor calls. “Please. He isn’t supposed to wake for another week. They said the shock could…” He can’t finish the sentence. Bruce sprints to the sleeping figure and begins to feel for a pulse.

Steve’s anger is rising. “Shock? You mean like the shock of waking up to find you’re someone’s sex slave?”

“What?” Thor asks unable to comprehend what has just been said.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Was this one for you? Is it true love? You do seem a little-“

A sharp scream comes from the young man in the box as he sits up, eyes wide with fear. He topples out of it and lands hard on the floor. He looks up at the people in front of him and screams again, clamoring backwards, dark hair long and wild.

Thor crouches in front of him, pulls him into his arms. “Loki,” he sighs rocking the form back and forth even though the man is trying to escape him. “Loki, you’re safe. I’m here now.”

The man with the startlingly green eyes looks at the man trying to soothe him.

“Loki.”

“Thor?” he asks with a soft, hesitant breath. “Thor.” He starts to tremble and cry, pulling the man close. “Thor. It wasn’t…They wanted…They talk to me. They want me to…to talk…”

“It’s all right, Loki. They are gone. We are safe now. I will keep you safe.”

Steve is stunned. The young man is beautiful, ethereal. There is obviously something between him and the big blond muscle guy. He just doesn’t know what it is. “What the hell is this?” he demands unsure exactly of what he should be feeling.

Thor looks at him with eyes of defiance. “This is my brother.”

“Huh,” the Captain says again as the words slowly process in his brain.

Bruce grabs a blanket from somewhere and drapes it across the young man’s shoulders.

“Is he…Is he okay?” Steve asks feeling suddenly overwhelmed.

“Loki,” Thor says quietly. “This is Bruce. He is a nice man. He’s going to help me make sure you are all right.”

Loki looks up at the dark-haired man in the purple shirt. He nods.

“I’m going to lift you up now and carry you to the Infirmary. There Doctor Bruce will check on you.”

“I don’t like being carried,” Loki says. “I’m too old to be carried.”

Thor smiles. “I know, Brother. But humor me this once, yes? It will make me most happy.”

The young man nods and wraps his arms around Thor’s neck. He is lifted and carried away. As he goes, his green eyes open peering over his brother’s shoulder and stare directly at the Captain.

Steve is transfixed, unable to move until the eyes have left his, are no longer in sight. “Anyone want to explain to me what just happened?”

Natasha walks to his side, eyes looking where Thor, Loki, and Bruce went. “Think it might be best if we wait for hammer guy to tell us.”

“I agree with my wife,” Clint says.

“Yeah,” Virginia agrees. She has seen a lot of things but nothing to match this. She looks at Steve and sees…fear? Apprehension? Whatever it is, it worries her. “You okay, Cap?”

“Ask me later,” he says and heads towards the Infirmary.

Once there, Steve watches through the large window. The young man (Loki – Steve remembers) has the blanket over his lap as Bruce checks his eyes, ears, mouth, reflexes, and lots of other things. His green eyes stare at the Captain until something distracts him, a question from Bruce, a statement from Thor. But then the eyes are back on the beardless blond on the other side of the window.

The Doctor gives the young man a sedative. They are always well stocked in sedatives.

In the dining area, Thor provides a very brief history of his and Loki’s past.

“I have certain powers. They are augmented by my hammer Mjolnir,” he says gesturing to the weapon at his side. “I can summon lightning and use it on my enemies. I tell you this not to brag but so that you will have context when I tell you that Loki’s abilities exceed anything I could ever do, everything I have ever seen. He is truly gifted, able to create images of himself, able to teleport and move things with his mind. As a child he was so gifted that others viewed him as a threat.

“It was difficult for him to make friends. Not only did he have this gift but he was clever, too, often too clever for his own good. He could make people agree to things without realizing it. He would make bets and win them on a technicality. People hated him, but they couldn’t see the person I saw.

“As I said, his powers were amazing. He surpassed the best teachers in the most advanced schools. And then one day we heard about a school, a government-sponsored boarding school for those with exceptional powers, a school for gifted youngsters. Loki was beyond excited. He could speak of nothing else for months. They accepted him readily enough. He was 16, and I had never seen him happier.”

Thor takes a moment to recall those last happy memories. “We wrote to each other at least once a week. They were the usual types of letters telling me about the people he had met and some of the lessons he was getting. Then they became shorter and shorter and the time between them lengthened. I continued to write once a week, but he didn’t even acknowledge that he had received any. Then approximately two years after he first entered the school the letters stopped completely.”

He takes a breath. “Mother and I were frantic with worry. We contacted the school every day for three months. Finally, we received a letter. It was long and rambling, apologizing for the lack of correspondence, explaining that he had been busy. That wasn’t the disturbing part. He referred to events in our past that had never happened, people whom we didn’t know. I knew then there was a problem.

“I began to do more research on the school but could find very little information about it. It was almost as though it didn’t exist…or rather it only existed as a front for something else. I read his letters over and over again especially the last. And then one day it hit me. It was a code, one we had used when we were children. The message consisted of five words – ‘Help me. They’re hurting us.’ How could I refuse?”

Thor thinks back on that time with sadness. His father had refused to acknowledge that anything was wrong. His mother, on the other hand, was as worried as he. She used all of her influence to help Thor find his brother.

“It took several years of searching to find someone to help. But the help they offered was not the kind I had hoped for. I wanted Loki out and back home with his family. If I accepted the help of these people, though, Loki could never come back. We would be fugitives.

“I do not like running away. But the school appeared to have limitless resources. Getting Loki back would…well, they would not let him go easily. I would rather sacrifice my pride than my brother. And so I helped to free him and ran.”

“So what do we do now, Cap?” Clint asks.

The Captain turns his blue eyes to Bruce. “How is he?”

“Tony is still touch and go. The next few hours will be crucial. Thor’s brother appears to be physically fine from what I can tell. But that’s just after a cursory examination.”

“So there’s nothing that needs fixing?”

“Not that I can see.”

Steve nods. “Fine. Then we continue to New Berlin as planned and conclude our business. Thor and his brother will get off there.” It feels wrong, but what choice does he have?

“Please don’t tell me you mean to leave them there,” Virginia says.

“I do.”

Bruce shakes his head. “They won’t survive. No matter how big Thor is. If he’s taking care of his brother, he’ll be an easy mark.”

“He’s big enough that people will think twice before messing with them.” Steve sees the disapproval in Bruce and Virginia’s eyes. Even Clint looks uneasy. “I let them stay on this ship, whatever is comin’ for them will come for us, too…assuming Alliance don’t already know all about us from the sleeping lawman. They won’t see us as innocent bystanders. I won’t sacrifice you for them. You think I’m wrong? Tough. You can stay on New Berlin with them.”

“So that’s it?” Bruce asks feeling fear and stress beginning to well up inside him. “You just leave them on a planet to fend for themselves?”

“I’m pretty sure Thor can handle himself,” Steve replies.

“And the lawman?” Nat asks. “If he did give Alliance all our info, no point dropping off Thor and his brother. They’ll still see us as accomplices.”

Cap looks at her and nods. “When he wakes, find out what he got through. Until then, we work on the premise they don’t know about us.”

“And that means what for him?” Bruce asks.

“After we conclude our business we’ll drop him off on another planet somewhere.” That’s what Steve tells them, but he and Nat both know they’ll probably have to kill him if they don’t want Alliance on their asses from now on.

Thor furrows his brow. “And just what is your business?”

“None of yours.”

“Obviously illegal. Seems to me you could use some extra muscle.”

“We’ve got Bruce for that.”

Thor looks at the Doctor. He sees a handsome face with kind, concerned eyes. “You might want to find someone who looks more imposing. No offense, Doctor.”

“None taken,” Bruce assures him. “And I think you’re right. I don’t like being used as the muscle. Cap knows that.”

Steve scowls. “I know that what we like and how things are are usually light years apart. Decision’s been made. I’m done discussing it.” He gets up and goes to the Bridge.

Clint walks in and sits beside him in the pilot’s chair. “That was a rousing speech you gave.”

“You think I’m wrong?”

“I think I’m glad I’m not you. Still, Thor ain’t wrong about the need for imposing muscle.”

A light starts flashing on the console.

“Ship?” Steve asks.

“Looks like it.” Clint adjusts the long-range sensors. “Shit.”

“What now?”

“Chitauri.”

A chill runs through the Captain’s body. The Chitauri are a warrior race known to swoop down on planets in large numbers and destroy all life, taking the planet and its resources for themselves. Sometimes they take over ships they come across. This is not as prevalent, and no one knows why some vessels are taken while others are left alone.

“They spot us?” the Captain asks.

“Yep. Maybe they aren’t in a conquering mood.” He glances over and sees the scowl on the Captain’s face. “Hey, a guy can dream.” Clint gets on the intercom. “Chitauri vessel is approaching. Repeat. Chitauri vessel is approaching. Shepherd, you may want to start praying.”

“Really?” Steve asks.

“Can’t hurt,” the pilot replies with a shrug.

The Captain can see the Chitauri vessel through the cockpit windows now. He watches as it comes closer and closer, looking to see if any weapon ports open. Then it is almost on top of them. He swallows, forces himself to take a breath.

It passes. The Chitauri vessel passes without so much as a scan. It showed them no interest whatsoever.

After a few more moments, Clint lets out the breath he’s been holding. “When it pays to fly around in a relic. Sorry, Cap,” he adds knowing Steve will not take the remarks with the humor and good-will in which they were intended.

“Get Mystique on the Cortex. Let’s make sure we actually can do business.”

The brief exchange between Cap and Mystique is polite, stiff. Steve tells the blue woman with red hair about the goods he has to sell and the seals they contain. Mystique doesn’t seem to mind. It isn’t as though Alliance ever gets out their way anyway. They settle on a price and a place and time to meet.

When Mystique gets off the line, Steve’s eyes remain on the monitor. “I do believe that woman is planning to shoot me again.”

Clint shrugs. “It would have been nice if she had at least pretended to negotiate the price.”

“Just once I wish things would go our way.”

“The Chitauri did just ignore us,” the pilot offers. He really hopes he didn’t just jinx that.

xxx

Natasha carrying a small silver briefcase walks into the room where Mortimer (a.k.a. Toad) is being kept. She tells Shepherd Coulson to take a stroll.

“I don’t think I should leave him,” the Shepherd says.

“Cap wants you in the Infirmary. Says you can pray over Tony if you want.”

Phil Coulson hesitates. He looks at the man chained to the small bed, knows if he leaves the lawman will be hurt. As a Shepherd, he knows he should care more. But to be honest, he really doesn’t. Nodding, he gets up and walks to the Infirmary.

“Alone at last,” Natasha tells the prisoner.

“You seriously don’t think I’m going to talk, are you?”

“I’m actually hoping you don’t.” She opens up her briefcase and reveals what looks like surgical instruments. “It’s been a while, and I could use the practice. Captain usually doesn’t have the stomach for this sort of thing. I got lucky he agreed to let me do this to you.”

Mortimer hears the hint of disapproval in her voice. “That must be frustrating.”

“You have no idea,” she says as she pulls out a pair of pliers.

“Seems to me you might be happy elsewhere.”

“What’s that to you?”

“Nothing. Just thought you might get more out of turning everyone in than staying loyal. Alliance could use a woman like you.”

She looks at him with disgust. “You think I’d turn on my crew? For what? Money?”

He stammers and licks the air with his tongue. “Well, uh, yeah.”

Her eyes narrow. “How much we talking about?”

“A lot. Do you even know who the Vikings are?”

“They were on Earth-That-Was, right?”

“No. Well, yeah. I meant the big blond passenger and the brother he has with him.”

“No. Who are they?” she asks with just a little interest.

He hesitates. “Well, I’m not sure exactly, but they have a hell of a bounty on their heads. If you help me turn them in, I’ll split it with you. Add that to a potential reward for turning this boat it in…”

She studies his face. “How much of a bounty is it exactly?”

“Enough to retire on even if it’s split.”

“Alliance can’t afford that,” she tells him.

“Apparently they can. Want proof? Look in my bag.”

She pulls his bag to her and starts looking in it. She pulls out a clear sheet of paper that shows Thor and Loki and the reward for any Alliance law enforcement agent that brings them in. It is substantial. “Impressive.”

“Yeah. They want the boy bad. Won’t rest until they get ‘im.”

“Okay. So how do I know you won’t double-cross me when the Alliance comes and boards us? How do I know you didn’t already give them my particulars?”

“I didn’t. I tried to, but the transmission was cut off too fast. They don’t even know which prisoners we got.”

“So I’d just be an ally,” she says with a tiny smile.

A gleam comes into his eye as the realization sets in that she just might help him. “Exactly. A soon to be very wealthy ally.”

She closes her briefcase and stands. “And the Alliance knows nothing about us. That’s actually all I needed to know. Thank you for your cooperation.” Natasha takes her briefcase and the clear paper and leaves the room.

xxx

“He didn’t tell them anything about us,” Nat tells Captain Rogers, handing him the paper.

He looks at the pictures and the bounty. “Well heck, I’m tempted to turn them in myself.” But then he sees Loki’s picture. The man looks so young. And though the photograph is black and white, Steve almost swears that green eyes are peering up at him. He hands the paper back to her then changes his mind and keeps it.

“You okay, Cap?”

“Fine,” he says with a furrowed brow. “I, uh…I’m going to go check on Tony,” he decides.

Tony is awake and very woozy. He is repeating Bruce’s name over and over in different pitches and volumes.

Bruce sees the Captain and shakes his head. “He’s all yours,” he says and steps out.

“Hey, Tony.” He’s trying hard not to look at the sleeping figure in the next bed, the one with the dark hair and fair skin.

“Mon Capitan,” Tony overly pronounces. “You’re looking handsome.”

“Those are the drugs talking.”

“I like the drugs,” he says with a lopsided smile. “We should have more drugs. Where’s Pepper?” he asks as he looks around the Infirmary. “Pepper!”

“Shh! She’s probably in her shuttle. I’ll go get her if you want.”

“Nah,” he says in a long drawn-out fashion. “How we doin’, Cap?”

“You tell me.”

“We still need the compression coil,” Tony says poking Steve’s chest with his finger. “And Bruce has a crush on the new guy.” He tilts his head. “Were you always this muscly?”

“Yes. And I know about Bruce’s crush. I think everyone knows about Bruce’s crush.”

“I know, right?” he says loudly.

“Shh. You’ll wake him,” Steve admonishes gesturing towards the sleeping young man.

“Oh, right. Sorry,” comes the reply in an exaggerated whisper. He looks at the young man then looks at his Captain. He furrows his brow, trying to concentrate on what exactly he’s seeing.

“How are you feeling, Tony?” Steve asks.

“Good. I’m good. Cold though. Very, very…cold.” His eyes close and the machines start beeping. Bruce runs in to check on his patient.

xxx

Thor is sitting in his little cabin, head in hands. He wants to be with Loki who is sleeping in the Infirmary, but Bruce kicked him out.

“You okay?” a soft voice asks from the entrance.

He looks up to see the Companion woman standing in the doorway. She looks lovely. “I have been better,” he tells her honestly.

“Yeah. Me, too. May I?” she gestures towards the bed.

“Yes. Of course.” He stands as she enters and does not sit back down until she does.

“Your brother must be pretty special for you to throw your life away for him like that.”

“He is.” He takes a breath. “I am sorry about Tony, about my part in it. He is special to you, yes?”

“Yes. But don’t tell him that. Wouldn’t want his ego to get any bigger than it already is.”

They sit in silence for a while, both feeling helpless.

“The Captain isn’t that bad,” she tells him suddenly. “He’s actually a really good man. I’m sure he’ll change his mind about you and your brother. Let you stay.”

“No. He is correct to want us to go. I just wish there was a place we could be safe. I need to keep him safe. That is what big brothers do, is it not?”

“It is,” she assures him. She takes his hand and gives it a little squeeze.

Steve walks in and gives her a hard glare. “Thought you’d be in your shuttle.”

“Thought I’d give Thor a freebie seein’ as how you’re gonna kick him off the ship.”

Captain Rogers shrugs. “Your body. Your time. Don’t much matter to me what you do with it as long as you pay the rent. Tony, on the other hand...Well, I guess he won’t care much now neither seeing as how he’s dead.”

Thor and Virginia both go white before they are racing out of the guest quarters and towards the Infirmary.

When they get there Tony is asking Bruce questions about the bullet he is holding up, the one that was taken out of his body.

“The man is psychotic,” Thor says as Virginia goes and gives Tony a hug.

“Hey, Pepper. Not so tight, okay? I’m still a little worse for wear.”

She hits his arm hard. “I hate you! How could you do that to me?”

“It’s not like it was on purpose.”

Thor tells them what the Captain had said about Tony being dead.

The engineer laughs softly as the Doctor shakes his head. “Sorry about that,” Bruce says. “The Captain has a warped sense of humor.”

“I’m going to kill him with my bare hands,” Virginia states.

Tony tells her if she does that he’ll be out of a job. He likes his job. He’d like to keep it. Then he makes her promise not to kill Cap.

“My brother?” Thor asks looking at the sleeping figure on the other bed. The dark-haired young man looks thinner than he remembered.

“Still resting comfortably. I’ll let you know if there’s any change.”

Tony smiles at his friend. “Hey, Bruce. Why don’t you show Thor the, um, second shuttle? You can look at the stars from there.”

The Doctor knows what his friend is trying to do and why. It’s Tony’s way of trying to make up for earlier. “I’m not sure Thor would want to see that.”

The large blond man shrugs. “I am in a spaceship, but I have not seen any stars. It would be nice to see some before my brother and I have to leave.”

Bruce nods hoping he isn’t blushing. “Do you want to come, Pepper? Tony could use some more rest.”

“Um, how about I walk up with you? I can see the stars from my own shuttle. I think I’d prefer watching them from there.”

The Doctor nods. “Get some rest,” he tells Tony before leading the way out.

xxx

“Nice place for an ambush,” Natasha notes as she looks at the valley with steep walls on either side. She was never a fan of New Berlin, and now that she’s back she remembers why.

“Can’t be helped,” Steve tells her. “Desperate times and all that.”

“I hate desperate times.”

“Me, too.”

Clint comes riding up on a rugged four-wheel buggy. He puts one of the gold foil-covered protein bars in Cap’s hand. “They are buried as ordered,” he says.

The Captain nods, his long brown coat fluttering in the wind. His round shield rests like an old friend on his back. “Mystique will figure we buried the goods. She’ll put us at our ease, pay us, wait for us to tell her where it’s buried, then shoot us.”

“Snipers?” Nat asks.

“That’d be my guess. Clint? Where’s the best vantage point?”

The sharpshooter looks up at the tops of the ranges. He points with all of the fingers in his hand. “There and there.”

“I suspect they’re in place now. Care to have a look-see?”

“You want them dead or just incapacitated?”

“Incapacitated. We may need to do business with her again.”

“You got it.” He gives his wife a quick kiss before heading out.

xxx

Shepherd Coulson is standing outside the room where Toad is being held. He is having a moral conflict. He knows that even though the lawman didn’t tell anything to the Alliance, he will tell them everything he knows once he is let go. The Captain knows this. And knowing this means that odds are the lawman will not be allowed to live.

If Coulson saves the lawman, the people on this ship, the two brothers who will be left on this moon could be taken into Alliance custody and tried. But they won’t be killed. If he doesn’t save the lawman, that man is dead for sure. He nods once he’s made up his mind.

“Mortimer?” he calls through the door. “It’s Shepherd Coulson. I’m here to help,” he says as he opens the door. As soon as he does, a chair smashes into him, sending his body crashing into the opposite wall. He looks up and sees a metal object coming down fast directly onto his head. The world goes black.

xxx

Mystique and six henchmen come riding up to Steve and Natasha. All are on horseback except for one guy driving a small truck. 

“Captain,” the woman says seductively. She is wearing a tailored white suit that accentuates her blue textured skin and curvy body beautifully. The only ornament is the gun belt she wears low on her hips adorned with the skulls of small mammals.

“Mystique,” he replies all business.

“Is that Natasha? You still sailing with this old war relic? When are you going to come work for me?”

“That’s a lot of muscle for three crates,” Nat notes.

Mystique shrugs. “Wanted to be sure Captain America wasn’t looking for some payback.”

“No payback, Mystique. We’re just looking for a fair exchange,” Steve tells her.

“Fine. Fine.” She makes a show of looking around. “Where are the goods?”

“Buried. You get the location after we get the cash.”

Mystique gives the Captain an apprehensive stare. “And we’re supposed to take it in on faith you have the goods?”

“Nope.” Steve holds up the one protein bar. He hands it to the woman that is riding to the right of Mystique. “It’s the good stuff.”

Their old adversary takes the bar and rips off the packaging. She smells it then gives it a bite. She chews, swallows, and nods. It’s good. Mystique pulls a small bag from her horse’s satchel and throws it at the Captain’s feet. He checks the contents and nods his satisfaction. 

Mystique asks where the rest of the goods are.

“At the end of the valley, half a mile east, foot of the first hill. You’ll see where the ground ’s been dug up.”

“Guess I will.”

“Good,” the Captain says.

“Good,” Mystique repeats.

Nobody moves. Cap tells them he’d appreciate if Mystique and her folks rode out first.

“I see. Well, that would be fine except for this one little hitch.”

“I don’t like hitches, Mystique. I just want to complete the deal and ride out.”

“That would be fine except that I have a rule. I don’t part with money if I don’t have to.” All of Mystique’s entourage draws their weapons. “It might be one of the reasons I run half this moon and you’re in that scrapheap you call a spaceship.”

Steve scowls, cursing his luck, and throws the small sack of money to her. “There. Money’s back. Now we can all go our separate ways.”

“Is that what you think?” Mystique asks with an evil smile.

The Captain sighs. “So who’s gonna get the honor of killing me, hmm? Which one of your minions is the best shooter? Who’s it gonna be?”

The woman next to Mystique aims her gun at him.

“I should warn you. I have the fastest fingers in the ‘verse,” he tells her, making a gun with his left hand – thumb up, bottom two fingers curled in, top two fingers held straight.

“Yeah, right,” the woman says.

Cap aims his fingers at her and recoils his hand. A shot rings out, and her gun flies out of her hand.

“What the –?” Her words are lost in the sudden maelstrom of noise as everyone begins to open fire.

Clint takes out three including the one in the truck. Natasha takes out one with her wrist stingers before she gets shot in the chest. Steve takes out one with his shield, catches it as the last one standing grazes his arm. He curses under his breath, pulling out a gun. He fires at the last remaining guy as Mystique picks up a gun and starts shooting.

“Natasha?” Steve calls loudly.

Her head lifts up with her arm, and she hits the last henchman with a jolt of electricity from her wrist stingers. 

Captain America deflects the bullets from Mystique’s gun using his shield. When he’s close enough, he grabs the gun from his adversary’s grip.

She looks up at him. “Give us a kiss?”

“If you insist.” He punches Mystique in the jaw. “I hate hitting women,” he says to the sky. He looks back down at the blue woman on the ground. “Let’s get something clear,” Cap says. “I do a job. I get paid,” he says taking the small bag of money. “Have fun running your little moon.” He turns around and walks to Natasha. “You alright?”

“I’ll live. Did like this shirt though.” She pulls it open and checks her breastplate. “Just glad they didn’t aim for my head.”

They see Clint racing towards them on the four-wheeler. “Chitauri!” he yells when he’s close enough. “Thor and Bruce spotted them. They followed us.”

“Hun dan,” Steve curses before jumping onto the vehicle after Nat.

xxx

Loki sits up suddenly, his eyes wide with fear.

“Hey, Kid. You okay?” Tony asks from the next bed.

He has to find Thor. There’s danger, and he has to find Thor. He gets up and heads to the entrance.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to –“ The last word dies in Tony’s mouth as he sees Toad grab Loki and put a gun to his temple.

“Well, well. Look who’s awake. You’re going to get me my promotion.” He backs out the door and points the gun at Tony. “If you’re smart, you’ll stay there.”

Tony isn’t smart (not in that way), but he has just gone through some major surgery. He isn’t going anywhere. He watches the young man get pulled away by the sickly yellow Toad.

As soon as they are gone, Tony struggles to get himself off the bed and to the comm. He calls the Bridge. “Anyone there?” he asks even though he figures there has to be with the sound of the engines coming to life.

“Bruce and Thor,” the Doctor’s voice comes.

“Mortimer ‘s out. He’s got the kid.”

xxx

Thor runs into the Cargo Bay and sees Toad forcing Loki towards the open ramp. “Stop! Unhand my brother!”

“You stay away,” Mortimer says as he moves the barrel of the gun between Thor and Loki.

The older brother takes his hammer and starts to swing it around. “Let him go, and I may let you live.”

Toad chuckles. “Yeah. Right.”

Thor directs a huge gust of wind towards the two men. They fall, breaking apart. Once Loki is cleared, he throws his hammer at the lawman. Toad is hit directly in the stomach. He falls to the ground. The hammer returns to its owner as he walks towards the lawman who is struggling to get up.

Virginia comes out of her shuttle to see what is happening. She can hear the four-wheeler as it drives up the ramp.

The hammer is thrown at Toad again, but this time he’s ready. He lunges left, avoiding an impact. Then he grabs Loki and once again points the gun to the young man’s head. This time he keeps it there. 

The hammer flies back into Thor’s hand.

Toad threatens in an agonized wheeze, “Put the hammer down, or I kill him now.”

“Do not hurt him,” Thor orders. 

“I said put the hammer down!” He turns so that Thor is on one side of him and the new arrivals are in front. “No one move! I’m taking Loki into custody, and none of you can stop me.”

Cap keeps walking. He starts to raise his gun.

“I said don’t –“

Cap shoots him in the face, causing the man to fly backwards.

Loki just stands there staring at the Captain. He didn’t move, didn’t even flinch when the shot rang out. He looks into the Captain’s eyes, and they hold each other’s gaze.

Clint runs up to the Bridge as he yells to Bruce that they are back.

Thor grabs Toad’s body and throws him out of the closing ramp.

“You okay?” Cap asks the man with the startlingly green eyes. Only now does he realize how tall the dark-haired man is, a few inches taller than himself.

“You’re lost,” Loki replies, and his voice is like silky music that vibrates in the Captain’s lungs.

“You’re not, not anymore,” Steve counters as they feel the ship move.

Clint’s voice comes over the loudspeaker. “I need Tony in the Engine Room please.”

Captain America looks at Thor. “Help me move him.” He looks up. “Virginia, get in your shuttle. Take Loki and the Shepherd with you. Be ready to go.”

“I can’t…I won’t leave you all here.”

“That wasn’t a request! Take care of him. We get boarded, you leave. Head to town. Thor will join you once we get Tony to the Engine Room.”

She nods and motions for Loki to come to her. He’s busy looking at the Captain and his brother.

“Loki, go with her,” Thor commands. “I will be there soon.”

“I’ll get the Shepherd,” Natasha says as Loki slowly begins to ascend the stairs.

xxx

The Captain enters the Bridge asking how close the Chitauri are.

“Too close. Much too close,” Clint replies.

“Too close as in a little in our personal space or too close as in they can grapple us in and board us.”

“More the former but coming up on the latter.”

“Well, you might want to go faster then.”

“Gee, Cap, I never thought of that. No wonder you’re the Captain.”

Natasha comes in. “What do you need?”

“I need Tony in the Engine Room.”

“I’m here,” Tony’s voice comes over the comm. “We going for hard burn?”

“Not yet but we will.”

“Comin’ right up,” the voice on the other end says.

Natasha stares at her husband. “Hard burn in atmo? Won’t that just burn us out?”

Cap scowls. “Either way they’re going to be on us like white on rice. Hawkeye, we need an Ivan.”

The name lets Clint know this is some serious shit. Cap never uses their code names except when he is super serious and needs them to be all business. “I’ll see what I can do.” He pushes the button to call Tony. “Iron Man, we’d like to introduce the Chitauri to Crazy Ivan. We up for that?” He waits for a response. “Iron Man? Hulk? You hear me?”

Tony’s voice responds, “We are up, Hawkeye. Say the magic word, and Ivan will appear.”

“Everyone hold on to something,” Clint says just before he says, “Magic word!” He pulls hard on a lever, and the ship lurches as the port engine flips over, spinning the vessel 180 degrees. The engine flips back. They are now heading directly towards the Chitauri ship. “Here, chicken-chicken-chicken,” the pilot murmurs.

The Chitauri ship banks right to avoid a collision.

“Now!” Clint commands.

In the Engine Room, Bruce punches a big red button that lights up the back of the Firefly, showing off why it was given that name.

The Avenger shoots forward, blasting into space at full speed until they break atmo. Then Clint eases off of the throttle and they slow down.

Natasha shakes her head slowly, completely impressed and turned on by her husband. “No way they can turn around and follow us now.”

Cap nods he’s agreement. “We’re good.” Then he says into the comm, “We’re good, people. Nice work.”

He pats Clint’s shoulder. “Nice job, Barton.”

“Aw, shucks, Cap. You’re gonna make me blush.”

“You done with him, Sir? ‘Cause I really need to rip his clothes off him,” Nat says eyeing her husband.

Clint smiles happily and shrugs.

Steve rolls his eyes. “Go on then. Try not to make too much noise. We have guests.”

xxx

Thor has left Virginia’s shuttle with Loki, escorting his brother to an empty guest room. Shepherd Coulson sits as the Companion tries to clean the head wound that Toad gave him.

“You should let Bruce look at this,” she tells him.

“I’ve had worse,” he tells her.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, but still. You could have a concussion.”

“Did I say I’ll be fine? I’m pretty sure fine left when I got on board this ship. Is it always like this?” he asks her.

“Not always.”

He sighs. “I’ve been out of the abbey two days, and I’ve already beaten a lawman, fallen in with criminals, and had the man I tried to protect get shot in the face by a personal hero who lost his faith a long time ago. Not exactly a great beginning.”

“Personal hero?”

“I was a big Captain America fan during the war. Broke my heart when he joined the resistance.”

“He had his reasons.”

“Yeah. I discovered that soon after it happened. Still, I don’t think I’m on the right ship.”

“Or maybe you’re exactly where you’re needed most,” she suggests.

He realizes she’s probably right, hopes she’s right. He bows his head in surrender. “Thank you.”

She touches his head. “You’re very welcome.”

xxx

“It has been quite a day, has it not, Brother?”

Loki looks at the man in front of him. “I thought you had forgotten about me.”

“Never,” Thor assures him. “Mother and I searched and searched for you. I am sorry I could not get you out until now.” He caresses his brother’s dark hair. “But now you must rest.”

“I’ve already rested.”

“Well you must rest some more,” he says as he makes his brother lie down. “And when you wake up, we will find a new home and live happily ever after.”

“There’s no such thing, and you know it.”

“Alright then, Mr. Smarty-Pants. We will find a new home and a new happiness in our new lives.”

“We are home,” the young man insists.

“No, Loki. We cannot stay here.”

“We can.”

In frustration Thor’s voice comes out more stern than he intends. “No, Loki. We can’t.” He sees the sadness in the green eyes and instantly regrets his tone. “I’m sorry. Don’t worry about that now. We will discuss it when you wake.” He pulls the covers up to his brother’s neck, tucks him in. “All snug now, yes?”

“There will be more bad people. We’ll be safe here.”

“Hush now, little brother. We will discuss it after you’ve rested.

Loki sticks his tongue out at Thor. Thor does the same back to him then quietly leaves the room.

xxx

Bruce walks onto the Bridge and takes the empty seat beside Steve. “Want me to take a look at that arm?”

“Already healed.”

“Sometimes I hate your super serum,” the Doctor says. “Guess we have Thor and Loki for a few more days.”

“I can tell you’re real disappointed,” Steve says dryly.

“Alliance will always be looking for them, you know. They’ll be safer on a moving ship than on any moon or planet. Believe me. I speak from experience.”

“I know. We’ve somehow managed to keep you safe, but this…” He takes a breath. “What’s two more, right?”

Bruce stares at the Captain. “So we’re keeping them?”

“Just until we get you laid. Sorry. Bad joke.”

“Are we keeping them?” the Doctor asks again, searching the Captain’s face.

Steve remembers those green eyes in that pale face just looking at him as though reading his thoughts. “Yes.”

“What happened to ‘I won’t be responsible for them’?”

“They ended up on my ship for a reason, right?” He needs validation that this is the correct decision. “Besides, Thor is pretty intimidating. We could use that. Also, I haven’t seen you this excited about anyone in a long time. Just be sure to make me the best man at your wedding.”

“Sorry, I already promised Tony,” he says as he gets up. “Also, I hate you.”

“I hate you more,” Steve calls after him.

Thor comes in a few minutes later. “Captain. Will you be dropping us off at Shi’ar? Or would you prefer we leave before then?”

“That hammer always come back to you?” Steve asks not looking at the man.

“Yes. And I am the only one who can wield it. A present from my father.”

The Captain nods. “You’ve got a lot of muscles, too. I know Bruce was admiring them.”

Thor crosses his arms at his chest. “What is this about?”

“We could use another fighter, someone a bit more intimidating than Nat or Clint. We’ve got Bruce, but he’s our doc and doesn’t like the role of muscle.”

It takes a moment for him to understand what is going on. “Are you offering to let us stay?”

Cap shrugs. “If you want.”

“How do I know you won’t turn us in to the Alliance?”

“Alliance and me ain’t exactly friends. Also,” and with this he turns to look at Thor, “I don’t turn on you unless you turn on me first. If you stay and you do right by this ship and by me, I will defend you and your brother till my last breath. That’s the promise I’ve made to everyone on my crew. But if you turn on me, I will have no problems treating you the way I treated our recently deceased guest.”

“I accept your terms,” Thor says and offers his arm.

The Captain takes it, each grasping the other’s forearm.

xxx

Steve sneaks into Loki’s room and finds the young man awake. “Thought you’d be asleep,” he says quietly as he sits on the edge of the bed.

Loki just looks at him.

Beginning to feel uncomfortable, he tries again, “Your brother says you’re special.”

“Special is bad.”

“No, special is not bad. Special is…well…special. You’ll find we’re all special here.”

Loki reaches up but hesitates to touch. “Are you real?”

He could lie. He could say he is absolutely real. But looking into that beautiful and seemingly innocent face, he finds he can’t. “Most days I don’t know,” he admits quietly. “Today? Today I’m feeling pretty damned real.”

Loki wipes away the tear that is traveling down the blond man’s cheek. He smiles. “You are real.”

Steve takes his hand and smiles back. “Funny. So are you.” He looks into the impossibly green eyes for a moment. “You sleep now, hear? I need you to still be real in the morning.”

“Will you be?”

“Come find me when you wake. We’ll find out together.”

Loki nods and closes his eyes. As Steve lets go of his hand, he opens them again. “Will I be real?”

Steve laughs softly. “Guess we’ll find out tomorrow.” Without knowing why, he bends down and kisses Loki’s forehead, breathes in the young man’s scent. He can feel his heartbeat speed up, and he wonders if he made the right decision. He stands and smiles at the figure on the bed. Then he turns and makes himself walk away.

Loki watches the handsome man leave his room and wishes he could follow. He silently promises the man with the solemn blue eyes that he will be real tomorrow. “For you,” he breathes. “I will be real for you.”


	2. Two Tickets to Paradiso

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cap and the crew of the Avenger are hired to rob a train.   
> Based on the Firefly episode “The Train Job” by Joss Whedon and Tim Minnear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It lives! Finally another chapter! The idea for this crossover is by thefigment who suggested 98% of the recasting and was a HUGE help in editing this chapter. Huge. Like really big.

It's become a sort of ritual. Every morning Loki wakes up and goes to find the Captain, touches him in some way, and says, "You're real."

Steve gives the young man a small smile and replies, "So are you."

Then Loki leaves, returning to his room or going to the Galley.

That changes slightly when Loki finds Steve on the Bridge. The Captain is doing his warm-up sketch of the instruments and the toy dinosaurs that currently have their backs to each other. The dark-haired man walks up silently and puts a tentative hand on the Captain's shoulder.

"You're real."

Steve had seen him come up in his peripheral vision. He tells himself he wasn't waiting for the young man to come as he looks up and says, "So are you." As Loki turns to go away, Steve invites him to sit, motioning to the chair next to his.

Loki sits and is completely enthralled by the sight of the stars out the window. Steve immediately starts to draw him, wanting to capture the look of innocent amazement in the green eyes.

"Loki?" a voice calls.

Steve quickly puts his sketchpad away. "Up here," the Captain calls back. He looks at the young man beside him and puts his finger to his lips.

The pale face nods and turns back to the stars.

Thor comes onto the Bridge. “Loki, you should not bother the Captain.”

“He’s no bother,” Steve assures him without warmth.

“It’s so full,” the dark-haired man says as he stares out the window. “It hurts.”

Thor is immediately kneeling beside his brother. “Where does it hurt? Loki, tell me.” When the younger man says nothing, he stands. “Let’s take you to the Doctor.”

Green eyes look at him in confusion, glistening with un-fallen tears. “I don’t want to.”

“Loki, if you’re hurt we must let the Doctor look at you.”

“I don’t want to,” he replies in a stronger voice.

“Then tell me where it hurts.”

“In the space between us.”

“Damn it, Loki! I am sick of your riddles. Speak plainly.”

“Hey,” the Captain interjects. “Let ‘im be.”

The large man looks at the one who has taken them in. “With all do respect, Captain, he is my brother. I know him best.”

“Maybe before when you were both younger. Maybe not so much now.”

Thor doesn’t know why, but the Captain’s words anger him. He looks at his brother and rises. “Come, Loki. Let us leave the Captain in peace. Come, Loki. Don’t be a brat.”

“You’re the brat,” Loki says as he rises. “Mother always said so.”

xxx

Loki wakes up very early, too early. He knows this, but he can’t go back to sleep. There are too many images in his mind. He gets up and goes to find the Captain.

The Infirmary is dark, abandoned. He did not expect to find the Captain there anyway. The first place he really checks is the Bridge. It, too, is dark. The seats are empty. Loki walks to the Galley. The lights are dimmed low, and there is no one there.

He continues on to the Engine Room. The only sound there is the whirring of the engine. Loki likes the sound, closing his eyes to better hear it. He puts his hand against the entrance and relishes the feel of the cold, solid surface. But the Captain is not here, so he moves on.

The Captain is not in the Cargo Bay nor the catwalks above. He is not in the second shuttle, which is empty except for residual hope and nervousness left from a few days before. (Thor can be such a dunce sometimes.) He is not in the first shuttle, the one that is inhabited by the woman who strokes people’s egos along with a few other things.

Back to the Cargo Bay and up to the guest quarters.

Loki goes into Thor’s room. His brother is snoring. He gently pokes the sleeping man with his finger. Thor is real. This is good.

He stands outside the Shepherd’s door. There is more there than the costume of faith. Loki doesn’t want to find out what it is. He moves on, looking into his own room to make sure the Captain isn’t there.

Up the stairs to the Fore Deck Hall.

The first door, the one with the lights, belongs to the engineer. He dreams of the family he so desperately wanted and the guilt-free life he used to lead. He confuses Loki, being both cruelest and kindest to those he loves. There are too many inputs, too many thoughts swirling in the cabin below, and it makes the young man’s head hurt.

The second door belongs to the Doctor. Loki doesn’t like doctors, not anymore. Luckily this one is more interested in his brother than in him. And even so, it does not appear to be a scientific interest. That is good. That is very good. But there is anger there, too, expertly concealed just below the surface. He makes Loki nervous.

The third door is his Captain’s. There is no mistaking it.

Loki puts his hand on the door. He feels the struggle inside. The Captain is living so often in the past that his present is in jeopardy. He moves back until he feels the cold wall behind him. Then he crouches down and waits.

He ignores the last door, the one with the pilot and the trusted first officer. He doesn’t like how they make him feel, tingly and wanting and hot. He keeps his focus on the Captain’s door.

The first door pivots in, leaving a gap in the floor where Tony climbs the ladder up. He pulls the door shut and heads to the Galley. Loki can hear him getting something to drink.

The door closest to the Bridge opens next, and Clint climbs out. “Shit,” he says when he sees the man sitting on the floor. “Honey,” he calls down. “You might want to come up here.” He approaches the young man slowly. “Good morning, Loki. How are we feeling today?”

Natasha comes out, a curious look in her eye. It morphs into something else, something more guarded as she sees what’s going on.

Tony emerges from the kitchen to see what the noise is about. “Well, you don’t see that everyday. Were you there when I left?”

Loki says nothing, instead tries to sink into the wall. He’s feeling very uncomfortable and wishes the Captain would just get up already.

The Captain’s door opens, and he climbs out a bit confused. “We havin’ a meeting I wasn’t told about?” Then he sees the handsome, dark-haired man stand and move towards him. Steve motions for Natasha to stay back.

Thor and Coulson come up the stairs, but Tony stops them with an arm.

A hesitant hand reaches out but stops halfway to the Captain. Loki is afraid to touch, afraid that he wanted so much for the man to appear that what he’s seeing is only in his mind. He’s afraid that he’ll reach out and touch only air. But then the Captain’s hand is moving towards his, and he can feel warm fingers take his hand.

Steve looks up into the green eyes full of relief. “I’m real, Loki. So are you.”

“Loki,” Thor admonishes. “What are you doing?”

He ignores his brother and speaks directly to the Captain. “I wasn’t sure.”

“About you or me?”

“I was afraid you had stayed in the past.”

Thor puts his hands on his brother’s shoulders. “Loki, you must not disturb the Captain. We’ve talked about this. He is busy and doesn’t need you pestering him.”

Loki straightens up, letting go of Steve’s hand, and for the first time he seems like Thor’s equal. “My apologies,” he says. “I did not mean to disturb you. Please forgive me, Captain.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t disturb me.” He hates to admit it, but it makes him a little sad to see the guy all formal and cold.

“Well he disturbed me,” Clint says as Bruce’s door opens and he climbs up.

“Captain, I would appreciate it if you didn’t encourage him,” Thor tells him, a touch of anger in his voice. Steve puts his hands in his pockets and looks at the large blond. Thor continues, turning to Bruce. “Doctor, would you mind checking my brother again?”

“No, not at all.”

“No more tests,” Loki states. “No more drugs.”

Bruce gives Thor a quick look before asking, “Is the pain gone?”

Loki looks at them, his eyes transforming from cold sanity to looking like those of a trapped animal. “No more tests,” he says more vehemently.

Shepherd Coulson steps up. “Hey, Loki. Why don’t we get some breakfast? There won’t be any tests there. I promise.” The young man looks to the Captain first then nods at the Shepherd, and the two of them move out of the hall.

“You must not encourage him, Captain,” Thor says forcefully.

“And you shouldn’t treat him like a child,” Steve replies. He sees anger in the cold blue eyes and smiles in response. “You know what? We’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. I think we should go have a drink.” Turning to his pilot, he asks Clint if they are near Parisia. They should be there in a few hours. “Good. Nat, why don’t you join us.”

“Cap, I’m not sure –“ She stops when she sees his face. “Yeah, sure.”

“It’s settled then.” He goes to the Bridge and takes a seat.

Thor goes to the Galley and sits with his brother and the Shepherd.

xxx

Thor, Steve, and Natasha are sitting at a table in an old bar. The round vibranium shield is resting against the Captain’s leg. They are nearing the end of their first beer when the belly dancer comes by. She hands the Captain a slip of paper that he tucks quickly but smoothly into his pocket.

“So, Asgard,” Steve says bringing the conversation back to Thor. “I guess you were some rich muckety-mucks up there?”

“We were an important family, yes,” the large man replies. “You will get no money from them, though.”

“Wasn’t even considering it. Though now that you mention it…”

A voice from the bar calls, “Everyone! Hey! I got somethin’ to say.”

Natasha frowns. “Every gorram year.”

“It’s important,” the man calls out, his voice slightly slurred.

“I’m suddenly feeling thirsty,” Steve says and gets up. As he straps on his shield, he asks Nat and Thor if they want anything.

“Today,” the man continues loudly, “is an auspicious day. Today is Unification Day!” He waits for a few cheers to die down. “Today is the day the Alliance finally broke those self-righteous Independents and gave ‘em what for, ushering in a new era. To the Alliance!” He downs his drink.

The bartender slides a glass of whiskey over to Steve, who drops some money on the bar.

The loud man walks up to the Captain. “You gonna drink with me to the Alliance?”

Steve pretends to ignore him and just takes his glass from the counter.

“Come on. Today’s the day the Alliance made those Browncoat scum shit their pants and get on their knees to admit defeat.”

“Not quite how I remember it,” Steve says, “but thank you for that visual.” He starts to walk back to his table, but the guy steps in front of him.

“Hey, your coat is brown.”

“Got it on sale. And brown ‘s a neutral color. Goes with everything.” He drinks his whiskey.

“You didn’t toast,” the man observes.

“Huh. Well ain’t that interestin’.”

“I’m starting to think you might be one of them Independents.”

“Is that what you’re thinkin’,” Steve says as he puts the glass back on the bar. “You may want to not think so hard. Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself. Now if you’ll excuse me.” He turns to go.

“The Independents should’a’ been killed, every last one of ‘em. They ain’t nothin’ but cowards and inbreeds and ain’t worth the space they take up.”

Steve turns slowly back around to face the man. He knows Nat is groaning right about now, but he doesn’t care. “Say that to my face.”

“I said you’re a coward and an inbreed and a waste of space. Now what are you gonna do about it.”

The Captain smiles. He starts to take the shield off his back. “Son, I know the war ‘s been over for a while, but it might do you some good to learn a little history. This shield, for example,” he says showing it to the drunk. “This shield was a symbol to people everywhere. A symbol of hope. See this mark here on the side?” He points to a place where the paint has been worn off. “See it?”

The guy leans in closer.

The shield pops up and hits the man square in the nose. Blood pours out of it as he staggers back and falls on his ass.

“And we were the stupid ones?” the Captain asks the fallen man. 

Six large guys stand up and surround him. “Yeah,” one of them says.

Steve smiles, putting his shield on his arm. “I can do this all day.”

“Should we help?” Thor asks.

“Nah. He’s got it,” Nat says.

He does have it. His shield is used like an extension of his arm. He uses tables and chairs and even the bar to his advantage. But as the Captain takes out his adversaries, more join the fray.

Thor is anxious, chomping at the bit to join the fight. “He’s getting all the glory!”

“You can join ‘im if you want,” she says.

With a mighty roar Thor enters the fight, hammer in hand.

Nat calmly walks out of the bar and calls her husband for a pick-up. She dodges a couple of men who get thrown out through the electronic window. A third guy staggers outside. He sees her and starts to move towards her menacingly. She looks up at him, raising her right arm. “Don’t do it,” she advises. He doesn’t listen. She stuns him with one of her stingers, a nice little weapon that Tony created for her. The guy flops to the ground. “I did try to warn you.”

More men come flying out. Another stumbles out the door. The Captain jumps through the window and rolls forward. Then he stands in a defensive position.

“So how’s Thor working out?” she asks.

Steve points towards the door.

Thor walks out, each hand holding a man by the back of the shirt. He knocks their heads together and lets them fall before stepping over them.

A few of the men stand up and get into a fighting stance.

“Do you really want to keep doing this?” Steve asks, his shield gleaming on his arm.

Thor is smiling happily as he begins to twirl his hammer.

The men look at each other and run away.

Avenger flies up just then. “What’d I miss?” Clint’s voice asks over the loudspeaker.

Steve looks over at Natasha. “Oh ye of little faith.”

“Faith had nothing to do with it. I just didn’t want to walk back to the ship.” She turns and climbs up Avenger’s open ramp. Thor and Steve follow her up.

The ramp closes behind them, and the ship leaves.

As the three of them walk to the Bridge, Bruce meets them. “Anyone need patching up?”

“Nope. And Thor here passed his test.”

“That was a test?” Natasha asks in disbelief.

“Yeah. Sure.”

“It was fun,” Thor says with a smile. “I like your tests.”

Clint hears them coming up behind him. He turns around in his chair. Reaching out for Natasha’s hand, he looks at the Captain. “Is it me or do you always end up in an Alliance-friendly bar on Unification Day?”

“Every man has his vice.”

“Did we at least make contact?”

Steve holds up a piece of paper. “Contact made. We got ourselves a job.” He hands the paper to Natasha. “See? Sometimes my vice pays off. Now lets get off this rock and do us some crime.”

xxx

Loki is strapped to a chair, needles and electrodes attached to his body. There are too many voices, too much information. He closes his eyes to make it stop, but his magic won’t come. Something else does. Pain, a burning searing pain that makes him cry out.

His eyes open to a bright light.

He moves away, surprised that he can. He lands hard on the floor and takes a mental inventory. No needles. No electrodes. Only a handful of voices. One sounds very familiar.

“Loki. Loki,” it says as hands hold his arms. “It’s okay. You’re safe. It’s me.”

He looks up at the blond man with the beard that looks as familiar as his voice.

“You know me, Brother.”

“Thor.”

“Yes,” he says in relief. “Big brother Thor who always looks out for you.”

Loki gives him a displeased look.

Thor looks at the Doctor who is standing behind his left shoulder. He turns back to his brother. “You were dreaming, yes? Were you dreaming about the school?”

“Doesn’t matter.” His voice sounds eerily calm.

“It might be. If you could tell me and Bruce, it may help him help you.”

“Help him help me,” Loki enunciates. He looks around. “This isn’t Asgard.”

“No, it isn’t. We’re on a ship, remember?”

“Midbulk transport, standard radion-accelerator core, classcode 03-K64, ‘Firefly’.”

“Well that’s impressive,” Steve says walking into the Infirmary. “I can’t even remember all that. How ya doin’?” he asks Loki.

“Help him help me,” the dark-haired man replies.

The inner corners of Steve’s eyebrows rise in confusion. “If I knew how I could do that, I certainly would.” He looks at Bruce for an explanation but just gets a shrug. So he goes to the sink and washes the blood from his knuckles.

“You’re hurt,” Loki says.

“Nothin’ to worry about. I’ll be good as new in an hour.” He turns around to see the young man looking down.

“I won’t. Broken. Out of warranty. Not worth fixing. Throw me away and buy another.”

“No, Loki,” Thor says. “Don’t talk that way. You are worth every effort.”

The Captain walks closer drying his hands. “Listen to your brother. I don’t give up on my crew. Expect them not to give up neither. You hear?”

“Thank you, Captain Rogers,” Thor says sincerely.

“Call me Steve or Cap. Don’t care which.”

Loki speaks. “Steve. Short for Stephen. Greek meaning crown.”

Steve didn’t know that. “Don’t want no crown. Never did.” He turns to Bruce. “Do what you can for ‘im,” he says. Then he tells Thor that he’ll need the man’s services at their destination. “Might want to wear something about your head so you don’t get recognized.” He leaves. Just as Steve is about to go up the stairs, he is stopped by Shepherd Coulson.

“Captain. How’s the boy?”

“The young man is doing fine considering. He’s still a bit discombobulated, but he’s calm enough.”

“Seems to have formed a special attachment to you.”

“Did he? I hadn’t noticed,” Steve deadpans.

They hear a crash from inside the infirmary and turn to see Loki curled up and crying as his brother tries to sooth him.

“Thor is a very brave young man,” Coulson notes.

Steve is ready for this conversation to be over. “The bravest in all the land,” he says obviously not believing it. He starts up the stairs.

Coulson follows, continuing the conversation as they go. “There’s not many who would do what he did – give up his entire life to free his brother from that place.”

“Is there a point to this, Shepherd?”

“Not many who would take them in either, Captain,” Coulson enunciates the title. “Wanted as the boy is, I mean. Not that I’d expect any less from you. I just can’t help wondering how it is that you of all people would end up here on a patched-up ship taking ‘jobs’ to keep afloat.”

“Just lucky I guess,” Cap replies as he heads towards the Engine Room.

“But you’re Captain America.”

Steve stops dead in his tracks. He takes a breath, stretches his neck, then continues walking as though he hadn’t heard. “What the –!” There are wires everywhere making the room look as though it was invaded by mechanical spiders. “Tony?!”

JARVIS’ voice comes cool and clear. “Tony has gone to see Ms. Potts.”

Grumbling, Steve turns and almost runs into Shepherd Coulson. “What?” he asks forcefully.

“You are still Captain America whether you want to acknowledge it or not.”

“Is there someplace we oughtta be droppin’ you off, Shepherd? Somewhere you can save a bunch a heathens?”

“Seems to me there are plenty of heathens right here.”

The Captain looks at the slight man with the kind eyes and serene appearance. “There are at that. And we like it that way. You wanna stay on this ship? Fine. You wanna make God my copilot? We’re gonna have a problem. I don’t like problems, Shepherd.”

“Neither do I,” he assures the Captain.

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an engineer to strangle.” Steve walks past the Shepherd and heads to Virginia’s shuttle. He can hear them long before he can see them.

“I still can’t believe your ‘I chose you. You’re special’ routine works,” Tony is saying.

“Every time. I bet it’d work on you, too.”

“Honey, I am special.”

She laughs. “You wish.”

Tony is leaning against the doorframe looking into Pepper’s shuttle. If not for the sound of boots on scaffolding, he would have had no clue the Captain was coming.

“Tony,” Steve says. “Is there a reason the Engine Room looks as though robots puked all over it?”

The engineer isn’t fazed. “Well if someone would buy a compression coil, I wouldn’t have to be creative.”

“Clean it up,” the Captain orders. “I pay you to keep the ship in order not flirt with the Companion.”

“Who’s flirting?” Tony asks while Pepper says, “I don’t flirt with your crew, Captain.”

“Clean it up. Now, Tony.” He waits there.

Tony sticks his hands in the pockets of his red coveralls. “Fine.” He skulks away.

Virginia sighs. “I swear he is such a child.”

“You shouldn’t encourage him.” He stops her protests with a raised hand.

She scowls at him. “Is there a reason you’re still here?”

“We got ourselves a job.”

“Well, goody for you.”

“Hey. I ain’t Tony. Lose the attitude.”

She takes a breath. “Sorry. I don’t suppose it’s on a world where I might actually find some respectable clients.”

“Respectable?” Steve sees the flash of anger in her eyes at the suggestion that none of her clients are respectable. He decides to just answer her question. “Not sure yet. Gotta go to a skyplex first, see the owner – a man named Shaw. He’s not a nice man. I suggest you remain here until we set off again.”

“Is he really that bad?” The look in his eyes tells her Shaw is that bad. “You got it, Captain.”

“Thank you. And maybe you could look in on Loki,” he adds quietly before saying good-bye and walking away.

xxx

Steve brings Nat and Thor with him. They are escorted to Shaw’s office by a couple of armed guards. Once inside, they are faced with a large red man that looks almost like the Devil from Earth-That-Was, including tail and black hair and goatee.

“Azazel? It’s fine,” a clear voice comes from inside. “Show them in.”

Sebastian Shaw is younger than Steve imagined. His brown hair is longish. His brown suit is obviously tailored. His red shirt matches the red handkerchief he wears in his jacket’s breast pocket. He stands and gives a smile that would put someone at ease if there was any kindness behind the brown eyes. There isn’t.

“Let me guess.” He points to the Captain. “You’re Steve Rogers.”

“That’s right. This here is Natasha and Thor.”

Sebastian’s eyes take in the large man with the red cloth covering the lower part of his face and the serious looking woman in the black outfit. “Good. I’m Sebastian Shaw. That large red beast over there is Azazel. He’s kind of protective.”

“How nice for you. Word is you have a job for us.”

“Cut right to the chase. I like that. Yes. There is something I need that’s going to be on a train. Have you worked trains before?”

“Yep.”

“Good. Are you going to ask me what’s on it?”

“I find it’s better if we don’t know.”

“Even better. You’re reputation proceeds you, Captain. Word is you are all business. I like that. I have a reputation, too. Do you know my reputation, Steve?”

“I’ve heard a tale or two,” he replies.

“Probably not pleasant tales though. Am I right? But those are just tales. Azazel?”

The large red man opens a door to another room. Inside is a young man hanging from the ceiling, his body bruised and bloody. He looks dead. 

Azazel smiles as he walks into the room. He grabs a large, curved knife and starts cutting the man down.

Steve tenses, nostrils flaring slightly. He swallows the bile that rises in his throat. If they didn’t need the money so gorram much, he’d punch Shaw in the face and walk out of there. That would be stupid even if he could afford it. No, he’d just walk out. Too bad he doesn’t have that option.

Sebastian closes the door. “That poor son of a bitch did not do his job to my satisfaction. That was the consequence. So now you have a tale of your own and the ones you’ve heard have a little more credence. I trust you will do your job to my satisfaction.” He gives them another cold smile.

“Would’ve done that even without the show-and-tell,” the Captain says, trying to hide his disgust. He has a bad feeling about this, but they are on the wrong side of desperate right now.

“You think I went a bit too far?” Shaw asks.

Steve doesn’t move, doesn’t talk. He’s too busy trying to get the image of that man out of his mind.

Natasha answers for him. “I’m sure he was a very bad man.”

“He was a dumbass and my wife’s nephew. Dinner is going to be a bitch, let me tell you. But let’s get back to business. The train job.” Sebastian walks back to his desk and shows them the train schematic.

The cargo is in the sixth car. It’s in two boxes. They are Alliance goods. They need to be taken off the train before it reaches Paradiso. “Then you’ll deliver the goods to Azazel here,” Shaw continues, pointing at the map. “You get half the money now. Azazel gives you the other half when the goods are delivered. Anything goes wrong, well, I’d hate to add another sordid tale to my reputation.” His smile is almost reptilian.

Steve takes a breath. “I suggest we avoid that then. Can we take this with us?” he asks, pointing at the schematics and map.

“They’re all yours.”

xxx

Steve and Nat are sitting on the train, blending in with the other passengers. Their clothes are a bit more drab than usual. And they wear hats to help hide their faces. Steve checks his watch. “Twenty minutes before we hit Paradiso,” he tells her.

“Best get to it,” she says. As they start heading to the back of the train, she adds, “Shaw is a psycho. You know that, right?”

“Not like psychos haven’t hired us before. If we’re lucky, this one will hire us again. What’s that say about us, I wonder.” He concentrates on the end of the car, trying not to think about the man he’s become.

“Don’t know. A little hard to think with the image of that dead kid hanging from the ceiling blocking everything else.”

“You want that dead kid to be one of us?” he snaps back. “Can we just concentrate on doing the thing, please?”

“Yeah. Sure,” she replies, just now realizing how much this is eating away at him. 

The Captain opens the door to the next train compartment. They go inside and find themselves in front of a regiment of Alliance soldiers all armed and all looking at them.

Steve swallows down the panic. He puts on his best smile. “Hi.”

A moment that feels much longer than it is occurs before the door on the other end of the compartment opens. A young couple with a child, dirty faces, and even dirtier clothes begin making their way through the soldiers and towards Steve and Nat.

Black Widow grabs the Captain’s arm and begins walking through as well. Their path crosses with the young family about a third of the way through.

They breathe a soft sigh of relief when they get to the next car. This one is full of the passengers that can barely afford to travel much less travel in luxury.

“Cap, I think we may not have all of the crucial details. Like why we just passed an entire fed squadron.”

“Must not be important,” he murmurs as he goes through all of the details of the plan in his mind.

She looks at him with a raised eyebrow. “Seems kind of important.”

“They aren’t protecting the goods. They wouldn’t have let us pass if they were,” he reasons. They must have been a late addition. Otherwise, they would have been noted in Shaw’s information.

“Still seems important.” Nat waits for him to say something as they make their way to a couple of empty seats. She gets tired of waiting. “We may want to re-evaluate this.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” Cap goes through it all in his mind again. Tony and Natasha had both been over the plans, too. Neither had noticed anything about feds. His leg starts to bounce up and down with nervousness. He looks at the car with all of the soldiers. Then he looks at the other end where the goods are. “We’re good.”

“Did you not see the feds in the car we just walked through?”

“I did.” He puts on a false smile, knowing she can probably see through it. “And it makes this job all the sweeter. Not only do we get to rob a train, but we get to do it under the noses of twenty trained Alliance feds. It isn’t every day we get to make the Alliance look stupid. Heck, that part makes me so happy I’d almost do this job for free. Almost,” he reiterates anticipating her question.

“Liar. Can I have your share when they kill you?” she asks.

His smile turns into a scowl. “Nope. My share goes to Avenger.” His eyes return to the car with the feds. 

Natasha puts a hand on his knee to stop it moving. “She’s a ship, Sir.”

“So? People are always leaving their money to pets and things. I simply choose to leave mine to the ship.”

She looks into his eyes, trying to bring his focus back. “Then can I have the ship?”

He takes a grateful breath. “Yes. You may have the ship. Just be sure you give me a nice funeral.”

xxx

Clint and Thor are on the Bridge discussing what is going to happen. “Once the hatch opens, I’m going to have a hell of a time keeping Avenger straight. So you’ll definitely want to be strapped in.”

“Of course. But you will be able to keep her straight, yes?”

“Absolutely.”

“It’s just that I would not wish to leave my brother alone.”

“I’ll keep her straight. Don’t you worry,” Clint assures him. A beeping goes off, and the pilot looks at the monitors. “Almost there. You should go get into position.”

Thor goes to the bay doors where Tony and Bruce are hooking up cables and winches. “Hello, Bruce,” the Asgardian calls.

“Hey, Thor.”

“My brother?”

“Resting in his room. You ready?”

Thor wraps the red cloth back around his nose and mouth. Then he puts on some large goggles. “I am now.”

Loki looks down from the catwalk as Tony and Bruce strap him to the main cable. Thor tugs at it to test its strength. Satisfied, he looks at the two men as a smile makes his eyes crinkle and shine.

xxx

Captain America and Black Widow stand outside the train car marked ‘STORAGE. NO PASSENGERS.’ Cap pulls out a keycard. “Time to test Shaw’s associate’s reputation.” He sticks it into the slot and waits.

The light on the security device changes from orange to purple. They can hear locks opening. The door swings open.

“Shiny,” Widow says. She takes a gas canister out of her belt and prepares to throw it.

Cap takes out his gun and opens the door.

There is no one inside, only crates and baggage.

They enter and close the door almost completely behind them, Natasha using the canister in her hand to set up an old-fashioned alarm and diversion. Once she’s done, Cap tells her to help him find the cargo.

They pull a tarp off of some small crates and immediately see the Alliance logo on two of them. Steve checks the manifest numbers against his information. “We’ve got a match.”

“All hail the great Alliance.”

xxx

The bomb bay doors are opening, letting in sunlight and a crap-load of wind. Once it is open all the way, Thor peers over the edge and sees the train moving approximately 20 feet (6 meters) below him.

The ride gets a bit bumpy.

Thor looks over at Tony and gives a thumbs up with a grin. This is going to be fun. 

Tony pushes the button that lowers the cable.

Thor jumps out and lands hard on the train. He regains his footing and waits. A panel of the train’s roof falls away. The Asgardian grasps onto the edge and lowers himself inside. He nods to Cap and Black Widow who are moving the crates onto a net on the floor. He busies himself by pulling each corner up and attaching it to one of the cables.

“Fifteen seconds,” Thor calls to Tony via the walkie-talkie. He gets up on the crates and waits for Black Widow and Cap to do the same.

Black Widow gets up first. She’s just about to hook herself onto the cable when the train door opens. Grey smoke fills the cabin as shots ring out. Widow jumps off the crates just as a bullet rips into Thor’s leg.

“Go!” she yells.

“Go!” Thor calls into the walkie. 

He immediately begins to rise with the goods as Cap takes care of the soldier who opened the door. By the time Black Widow gets to them, the soldier is unconscious. She and Cap silently and deliberately head towards the front of the train, stealthily setting off more gas canisters when they get to the car crowded with poorer passengers to more easily blend with the crowd.

Tony and Bruce are both surprised when only Thor appears with the crates. “Where are Cap and Widow?” the engineer asks once the doors are closed.

“We were interrupted. They remained on the train.”

Bruce notices the blood running down the blond man’s leg. “What happened?”

“It would appear that I’ve been shot. Doctor, I could use your services.”

“Tony, help me get him to the Infirmary.”

“What about Cap and Widow?”

That’s when Clint’s voice is heard. “We good?”

Tony and Bruce exchange a look.

“One is not three,” Loki says quietly in the catwalks. He climbs down and helps to unhook his brother as Iron Man decides to tell the pilot what happened in person.

xxx

Captain America and Black Widow are off the train with lots of other passengers. Many are still coughing from the smoke. They casually try to listen in on the Sheriff who is speaking with one of the Alliance soldiers.

“I didn’t get a good look,” the fed is saying.

“Well do we at least know what they took?” the Sheriff asks. He has red hair and red sunglasses and carries a small pen-like item. He wears a dark red leather coat over dark brown pants and a maroon shirt. Steve was surprised to see him use the pen earlier to scan the ground. So the information was correct. The Sheriff is blind. “Hey, Foggy, get those people together and quiet them down please.” He points to a group of mainly women and children who appear to be sick.

A deputy goes over to him. “It looks like they got the medicine, Sir. All of it.”

The Sheriff is quiet for a moment. “The medicine. All of it? You sure?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Cap can see the man’s hands ball into fists. 

The Sheriff’s jaw tightens as he takes a breath. “God help us.”

Black Widow looks over at Cap. He does not look happy. He looks as far from happy as someone can get. His nostrils flare as his eyes look back at the group of sick people. They are being told, and a collective wail of despair is heard.

“Shit.”

xxx

“Should we not go on to the rendezvous point?” Thor asks as Bruce wraps his leg. Loki is watching with interest.

“Nope,” Clint says. “We aren’t making any sale until Nat and Steve are on board.”

“This is dangerous,” Thor tells him. “Shaw’s men are killers. They will not take kindly to being made to wait.”

“Too bad. I ain’t going anywhere without my wife.”

“I know the like of these men. If we miss the rendezvous, it will not matter if your wife is back or no. They will not rest until she and the Captain and all of us are dead. We can always come back. We shall come back. But first we must make this deal.”

“Nat will be fine,” Tony says. “She’s with Cap. Which of course means she’ll be keeping him out of trouble.”

Bruce asks if they should be concerned about the authorities. “Won’t they be looking for us? Might be better to get rid of the cargo and come back.”

Clint assures him that they will be fine. “If they buzz the canyon, we’ll hear them before they get anywhere near us. I figure –“

“Won’t stop,” Loki says. “Never stop. They’ll chase you till the end of the universe to get back what you took.” He lets out a soft, hollow laugh. Then he looks at Thor with fear in his green eyes. “On they come, too many thumbs… on they come, too many thumbs …”

Thor cups his brother’s cheek. “Loki, I will not let that happen. We will make sure Shaw gets his crates.”

“Shaw?” Shepherd Coulson asks from the doorway. “Is this Sebastian Shaw you’re talking about?”

Tony eyes the man suspiciously. “How’s a Shepherd know about Sebastian Shaw?”

Coulson shrugs. “From what I’ve heard, if he made a deal with the Captain and the Captain isn’t there to see it through, if he learns that the Captain is being held and in a position to rat him out…I think we’re all better off being a tad late.”

They take a moment to let the words sink in. Thor nods. “Then we wait.”

xxx

Cap is leaning forward resting his forearms on his knees. Natasha is sitting beside him, back straight and studying her surroundings.

“This is a nightmare,” Steve mutters.

“We’re still in the clear,” she tells him.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.”

They are in the Sherriff’s office waiting to be questioned with all of the other train passengers. Many of those passengers are sick.

The Sheriff is done talking to a couple. They take their luggage and go.

Steve turns to Natasha. “No matter what happens, just remember I love you.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Sir?”

“Because you’re my wife,” he reminds her.

“Oh. Right, Sir. Honey,” she corrects.

Steve forces himself not to roll his eyes. Instead he watches as the Sheriff and a deputy confer over a piece of paper. The deputy looks up to where he and Nat are sitting. The Sheriff nods.

The deputy walks over to them and tells them to go to the Sheriff’s desk. 

Steve and Natasha walk over. He holds her hand. Even if the Sheriff can’t see, his deputies can.

The nameplate on the desk says Sheriff Murdoch. When the couple sits, the Sheriff places his hand over the piece of paper. “Car three, row twelve. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond,” he reads via touch.

“That’s right." Steve looks up at him with innocent concern. “What happened, Sheriff? Did someone on the train get killed or something?”

“No, no. Nothing like that.” The sensitive fingers continue reading the paper. “This says your fares were paid for by a third party?” He tilts his head as though trying to listen harder.

Steve had never heard of a blind Sheriff before, was quite surprised when he read about Sheriff Matt Murdoch in the information. He finds it fascinating and wishes he could ask the man questions about how he conducts his job day to day. But right now, he needs to concentrate on answering the questions and getting back to Avenger. “That’s right. My uncle bought the tickets for us, as a wedding gift.”

“Wedding gift?” He sounds skeptical. “You spending your honeymoon in Paradiso?”

“No, Sir,” Nat replies. “We’re here looking for work.”

“Oh, yeah?” He still sounds unconvinced.

“Yeah,” Steve replies, knowing this isn’t working. There is no helping it. He and Black Widow have to play this out to the end. “My uncle said he knew a Jim Harris out here. Said he might have an opening. Figured we’d try our luck.”

Sheriff Murdoch reaches out. “Hands.”

Cap and Black Widow exchange a look. Neither of them was expecting this. They each take one of his hands. The Sheriff places Steve’s hand on the desk. With Natasha’s hand, he feels the palm and each finger. It’s oddly intimate. Her hand is placed on the desk. Then he picks up Cap’s hand and does the same thing. Steve wonders if he should have requested dinner and some drinks first what with all of the caressing. Finally his hand is also placed back on the desk.

“Thank you for indulging me,” Sheriff Murdoch says. “Now, either of you miners by trade?” He already knows the answer. What callouses he felt are not those of a miner.

Tasha admits, “No, Sir. Not really. But work’s been real scarce. We’re willing to try just about anything.”

Steve can’t help himself. “Sheriff, how come so many people seem to be sick here?”

“Bowden’s Malady,” Murdoch tells them. “You know what that is?”

Natasha does. “Affliction of the bone and muscle. It’s degenerative.”

“Very. Every planet that’s been terraformed for human life has its quirks. Ours is Bowden’s. Mainly affects the miners and dumpers, but eventually everyone gets it. Hell, I got it, and I used to be a lawyer if you can believe that. Anyway, it affects the kids the worst.”

“But it’s treatable, right?”

“The symptoms are if you have the right medicine. Which of course is what was stolen off the train you were on. Hence the long wait.”

“Stolen?” Steve asks. “But didn’t we see a whole regiment of fine Alliance Federals on board?”

“You did. So fine they let the medicine get stolen from right under their noses. Then they took off for their camp without even a sorry.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Cap says. “Funny how Alliance always seems to be there until you need them.”

Sheriff Murdoch nods his head. “Can’t say we have much use for them here on the border planets. But they aren’t the ones who stole the medicine.” He leans in, again creating a sense of strained intimacy. “When I find the ones that did, they won’t get jail. I’m sending them straight into the mine so they can breathe that putrid air for the rest of their miserable lives.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Steve says, hoping the guilt isn’t too evident in his voice. He understands why the Sheriff feels that way. But Cap will never allow that to happen to his crew. He tries to tell Nat that with a look.

“So when was the last time you spoke to Jim Harris?” the Sheriff asks in a tone that is suddenly very casual.

Steve senses a trap. “Never did myself.” His tone sounds guarded despite his best efforts.

“Right. Your uncle. And your uncle told you that Jim had an opening?”

“Yep. Didn’t much care what it was.”

The Sheriff sits quietly as though trying to listen for any changes. “Surprised your uncle didn’t mention the Bowden’s problem. Or that Jim Harris blew his own head off about eight months back.”

“Huh,” Steve replies, knowing things are about to come to a head. He can feel Black Widow tensing beside him. “So is his job open?”

The Sheriff gives a half smile. “Would you folks mind if we took a retinal scan? We’re doing it to everyone we don’t know. Just to make sure they really are who they say they are.”

Cap keeps his voice steady. “Not at all. Whatever we can do to help.”

“Good. Go back and have yourselves a seat. We’ll get you scanned in a bit.”

Steve and Natasha go back to where they had been sitting. “He’s on to us, Sir,” she tells him as her eyes slowly scan the room for the best exit route.

“Yeah. I did get that impression.” He’s doing the same thing.

“You think Avenger is still waiting for us?”

“If they are, they’re all fired.”

“And if they aren’t?”

“They’re all fired,” he says absently. He’s still looking around trying to figure out how to get out of here. He really wishes he had his shield right now.

Black Widow gives him a moment, takes advantage of it to complete her own assessment. “So how do you want to play this?”

Before he can answer, there is a bit of commotion as someone pushes through the crowd and the deputies.

Virginia appears looking regal and displeased, her strawberry blonde hair done up in braids and swirls. She strides towards them in her mint green gown with shiny see-through accents.

This is the last thing Cap expected to see. “What the h-“

She slaps him hard across the face. “Don’t you dare speak to me,” she tells him with icy ferocity. She turns to the blind man who is making his way over. “Sheriff, I want this man bound by law at once. Assuming he hasn’t been already.”

“No one’s been bound, Ma’am. Not yet.” The thing that strikes him the most about the woman is the way she smells. It’s clean and flowery and spicy. The second thing is that her voice is clear and authoritative while still retaining its femininity. He can’t help but wonder what her skin feels like. He imagines it is incredibly soft. He doesn’t allow himself to think anything beyond that.

“Well I am very grateful you stopped them.” Virginia turns to Cap. “Did you honestly think you could access my accounts without my knowing? Or that I wouldn’t find you?” She turns to Widow. “And, Natasha, what would your husband say if he knew you were here?”

Natasha lowers her head in shame and to hide the relief in her eyes. “I was weak.”

Sheriff Murdoch says, “So they aren’t newlyweds then.”

“Hardly,” Virginia replies. “Steven is my indentured man who still has three years left on his debt. We’ll have to tack on at least another six months for this little adventure.”

The deputies are murmuring and ogling in the background. The Companion takes a breath and straightens her shoulders.

“Please forgive their whispers,” Sheriff Murdoch says. “They’ve never been in the presence of a Registered Companion before. Fancy folk like yourself don’t usually pass through here.”

Virginia gives him a sweet smile. “I do apologize for my manner. I’m not usually so harsh.” She glares at the Captain. “I’ve half a mind to leave you both here. And if your debt wasn’t so huge, I would.” She takes a breath and turns back to the Sheriff. “Will you be needing to keep them much longer? I don’t want to interfere with whatever this is.”

“You’re not,” the Sheriff assures her. “We’re done. You can take them.”

“Thank you so much, Sheriff,” she says and gives his hand a light squeeze.

He listens to them leave. “Foggy? You sure her papers were all in order?”

“Ran ‘em twice.”

Matt Murdoch doesn’t like it, but there isn’t really anything he can do about it now. “Let’s keep pushing.”

xxx

Virginia, Steve, and Natasha step out of the Companion’s shuttle to an awaiting little crowd.

“So,” Tony asks, “how’d it go?”

Before anyone can answer, Loki throws himself at the Captain. The hug lasts for two seconds. Then the Asgardian breaks away and disappears down the catwalk. For a tall fellow, he moves really quick.

Steve’s brow furrows. “I get slapped one moment and hugged the next. Today is just weird.” He starts down the stairs to where Thor is waiting. “How’s the leg?”

“It will heal,” he says a bit coldly due to Loki’s behavior towards the Captain.

After hugging his wife, Clint lets them know he kept the engine running. They are good to go whenever the Captain is ready.

“We aren’t going,” Steve tells them.

“Not what? Not why?”

“We’re taking the cargo back.”

“I do not understand,” Thor says. “You made a deal with Shaw. You must honor it.”

“There’s less honor in honoring it than in not honoring it.” That sounded way better in Steve’s head.

Natasha takes charge and requests Tony and Thor help her load the cargo onto the Mule, their four-wheel utility vehicle.

Thor steps in front of her. “Help me to understand. We have made a deal with Shaw. If we do not deliver, does that not mean our lives are forfeit? He will come after us.”

Cap is already lowering the cargo bay ramp. “Other folks need it more.”

“My shuttle is faster,” Pepper offers.

“You risked enough,” Cap tells her. “And I’d rather not get slapped again. Far as Shaw goes, we’ll just have to explain that the job went south. We give him back his money, we should be good.”

“It will not be so simple,” Thor warns him.

Clint would really like for someone to explain and says so. And then he sees the men outside.

Everyone turns to find Azazel and six other men at the bottom of the ramp. They start to walk up. “You didn’t make the rendezvous,” Azazel says.

Cap is beginning to sense of a pattern of this always happening when he doesn’t have his shield. He sees a flash to his left and sees Loki holding it. That makes him feel better. “We ran into a few complications,” he says.

“Please don’t tell me you were stupid enough to think about taking Shaw’s money and his property.”

“No, I’m stupid in the complete opposite way.” He can tell Azazel doesn’t understand. “Let me say it another way. Deal’s off. Shaw can keep his money.”

“Shaw doesn’t want his money. Shaw wants his goods.”

“Well he can’t have them. So we will give you the money he already gave us. And you can return it to him. And everyone will be even.”

“There is no even.”

“That right.” Cap reaches for his gun but doesn’t get to it before Azazel buries the end of a huge knife into his shoulder. That’s basically when all hell breaks loose.

Thor and Natasha start fighting the six men as Clint runs to get his bow, Tony runs to get his suit, and Bruce goes to protect Pepper and Loki.

Clint returns first and starts shooting arrows from the catwalk as Thor swings his hammer at first one man then another. Natasha is taking cover behind the crates, popping up to shoot every so often. Loki has tossed Cap his shield, and he is now using it to keep Azazel at bay.

They hear a huge clanking sound as Tony comes running back in his Iron Man suit.

Just then, a huge roar is heard.

Bruce is gone. In his place is a huge green man full of anger. Bullets do not penetrate his skin. He roars again before bashing two of Shaw’s men together.

“Avengers!” Cap yells. “Take out the trash!”

Loki watches in fascination as the group, his brother included, drive the men off the ship. That’s where Thor lets loose with the lightning. Soon all of the goons are unconscious except Azazel, who has the ability to teleport himself to different locations.

Hulk is getting very frustrated with the red devil.

“Iron Man, we could use some science,” Cap says then gets punched in the back. “Where’s he going to be?”

“Working on it,” the man in the red and yellow suit says. He’s having JARVIS analyze the atmosphere whenever Azazel transports. There! A tiny disturbance just before he appears. Iron Man scans for it and aims a repulsor blast at that location.

Azazel falls to the ground in a heap.

xxx

Captain America and Black Widow are on the Mule with the crates of medicine. They’re driving it as close to the town as they dare get.

The Mule stops when the town becomes visible in the dark distance.

Cap nods. “We’ll drag ‘em the rest of the way to just off the main street. Notify the Sheriff once we’re in deep, deep space.”

“Or you could tell him in person,” a familiar voice says. It’s the Sheriff. His dark red coat is rustling slightly in the wind.

Black Widow and Captain America both draw their weapons.

“You could try to shoot me,” the Sheriff says. “But I’ll hear it and move out of the way before you do. Then I’ll crack the both of you over the skull with my club.”

“And we’re just supposed to believe you?” Cap asks.

“Some folks call me Daredevil. Perhaps you’d like to know why.” He runs forward avoiding every large rock in his path except one. This one he uses to launch himself up where he does a flip and lands almost directly beside the Mule. “Believe me now?”

“Yeah,” Cap says in awe. Natasha nods her agreement then realizes the Sheriff probably can’t see it.

“Got word there was a ship not too far out. Decided to come looking. Didn’t expect to find you coming back.”

“Didn’t expect to be coming,” Cap tells him.

Deputy Foggy and a couple of others walk out of the shadows and start looking at the crates. “Everything is here,” Foggy confirms.

Daredevil nods. “You weren’t lying when you said these were tough times, hard to find work. Might be someone looking for a job may not be looking too close at what it is. But when he finds out the details and the consequences of it, well at that point he has a choice.”

“I don’t believe he does,” Cap counters.

Sheriff Murdoch nods with the slightest of smiles. “Foggy, let’s get these crates back into town.” He turns back towards the man he knows as Mr. Raymond. “Good-bye. Please don’t ever let me hear from you again.”

xxx

Azazel gets dumped onto the ground. He’s wearing a collar that Tony whipped up with a bit of help from Bruce that won’t allow him to transport.

Captain Steve Rogers stands over him, holding the money Shaw gave him. Half the payment for the job. “This is all the money Shaw gave us in advance. You give it back to him and tell him the job didn’t work out. And since we didn’t complete the job, we’re giving him his money back. No harm. No foul. And we’ll be sure to stay out of his way as best we can from now on. Got it?”

Azazel stands to his full height. “Keep the money. Use it for your funeral. Because no matter where you go or how far you fly, I will hunt you down. And I will kill you.”

“Now see, that’s just not helpful.” He kicks Azazel back towards one of Avenger’s engines. It’s on.

The large red man gets sucked into it, causing it to make a horrible crunching, squelching noise.

Black Widow tosses one of the live henchmen in front of Steve.

The Captain takes a breath. “This is all the money Shaw –“

“Yeah! Absolutely! No harm. No foul. Best for everyone. I totally agree.”

Cap smiles and puts the money in the man’s breast pocket. He turns and walks into his ship. “Let’s get off this rock.”

xxx

Bruce is closing up Cap’s shoulder in the Infirmary. The cut is deep. That coupled with Cap’s sometimes old-fashioned preferences, the doctor is using stitches for the job.

“You okay?” Steve asks him.

“I’ve been better.” The man looks tired.

“Has Thor said anything about Hulk?”

“Haven’t exactly let myself be around him since it happened.”

“The Shepherd?”

“Don’t even know if he was there.” He ties off the last stitch.

“You did good today, Bruce. You and Hulk.”

Bruce puts some gauze over the stitches and tapes it in place.

Steve looks out the door and sees Thor. “Am I interrupting?” the bearded man asks.

“Nope,” Cap says before Bruce can say anything. “I’m all done here.” He puts on his shirt slowly. “Thanks, Bruce.” He winks at the Doctor and leaves.

“That creature. That was you.”

“Yes,” Bruce replies as he busies himself putting away the supplies he used.

“You were most impressive.”

That was not the reaction Bruce was expecting. It makes him stop and look up.

Thor smiles at him. “You are more handsome, if I may say. But as a warrior, the green fellow, you were most impressive.”

“He isn’t me. Everyone calls him the Hulk.”

“Well, please tell the Hulk I was grateful for his help today.” He gives Bruce another warm smile. “And I am also grateful to you,” he says motioning to his leg.

“I should take a look at that, make sure it didn’t open back up what with all the fighting.”

Thor drops his trousers and jumps up on the bed. He extends his injured leg over the bed while his other leg dangles down.

Bruce checks it, making sure to keep his personal feelings out of it. He can’t think about it being Thor’s leg. He can’t look up to see Thor’s bright smile shining on him. He checks the wound and turns around. “Looks fine. You can go about your business now.”

The Asgardian puts his trousers and his boots back on. “Thank you, Bruce.”

Bruce looks up hesitantly and offers a small, uncertain smile in response to Thor’s bright, confident one. “You’re welcome, Thor.”

xxx

Steve goes to check on Loki. The dark-haired young man is sitting up in bed hugging his knees. He looks scared.

“Hey, you okay? I know it was kind of a rough day.” He sits beside the man.

Loki puts his head on the Captain’s shoulder, making the soldier wince slightly. “On they come, too many thumbs.”

“Is that some sort of nursery rhyme?”

“On they come, too many thumbs.”

“Sorry. I don’t know that one. Hey, thanks for getting me my shield. That was really smart of you.”

Loki whispers, “On they come, too many thumbs.”

“Um, so, as you probably noticed, Bruce sometimes changes into a big green guy. He can be a little violent and crude, but he can also be really handy at times. If you’re scared of him or if you want to learn more, you can ask me. Okay?” He feels a nod against his shoulder. “Good. You should get some sleep now.”

“He was real?” Loki asks sitting up suddenly and looking into Steve’s eyes.

“Yes, Sweetheart. He was real.”

“I don’t have a sweet heart. It’s cold and cruel and full of mischief.”

Steve smiles and takes his hand. “That’s not…Never mind. What would you like me to call you?”

“Loki.”

“I mean as a nickname. I’m Cap. What do I call you?”

“Loki.”

Steve chuckles. “Okay. You win. I’ll only call you Loki. Now lie down and try to get some sleep. Okay?” He strokes the black hair.

Loki lies down, and Steve tucks him in. 

Again he kisses the young man’s forehead. “Good night, Loki.”

“Good night, Captain Rogers.” As soon as the Captain is gone, he sits back up and repeats his fear. “On they come, too many thumbs. On they come, too many thumbs.”


	3. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Avenger happens across a dead ship, what they find is more than what they bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huzzah! A new chapter. This one is based on the Firefly episode “Bushwhacked” by Tim Minnear. The idea for this crossover is by thefigment who suggested 98% of the recasting and has been a tremendous help in editing the chapters.

Steve wakes up from a new nightmare. Shaw was not in a forgiving mood and was taking it out on Nat and Loki. The Captain lies to himself as his eyes take in the darkness. There is no reason to worry. Shaw will understand.

He gets up and relieves his bladder. Then he washes his hands and face before putting on his clothes. It’s very early, but that will give him time to draw. He climbs up the ladder to the door of his room.

Loki is there waiting for him in the hall when he gets out. The tall black-haired young man stands and walks towards him. He runs his hands slowly down the Captain’s arm. “You’re real.”

“So are you.” When Loki turns to walk away, he calls him back. “Sit in the Bridge with me.”

The young man nods and waits for Steve to lead the way.

“You know, your brother wouldn’t be too happy about you skulking outside my door,” Cap notes as he climbs the three stairs. “Doubt the crew would find it particularly comforting. Seemed to rattle them last time.” They sit down in two of the three seats. Steve gets his sketchpad from its hiding place and grabs a pencil. “If you need to make sure I’m real, maybe you should just come in and see for yourself.”

As soon as the words leave his lips, he realizes that may not have been the best suggestion. He doesn’t want to think of how Thor will react if he finds out about it.

“May I?” Loki asks, his eyes full of hope. 

Those two simple words trigger a memory from his childhood. Steve and his mom were eating supper. He remembers asking, “Can I please have the salt?” She looked at him calmly and said, “It’s ‘ _May_ I have the salt’. And yes, you may.”

“Yes, you may,” Steve finds himself replying, almost hearing his mother’s voice as he says it.

Loki nods, gratitude in his green eyes. He hugs his knees to his chest and stares out the window. “I was a prince once.”

“Were you now,” the Captain replies, humoring the man next to him.

“Thor, too. You don’t believe me.”

“Does seem kinda far fetched.” He finishes his warm-up drawing with the dinosaurs now facing away from each other and begins to draw Loki.

“It’s true. Our father…His father,” he corrects, “was a great king.”

“So which is it? Our father or his father?” Steve regrets the question as soon as Loki’s head drops. “You know what? None of my business.”

They sit in silence for a while, Steve continuing to draw the young man who seems to be examining everything around him.

“How do you see me?” Loki suddenly asks.

He decides to lighten the mood. Through a goofy grin, he answers, “With my eyes, silly. How else would I see you?”

Green eyes turn to him and sincerely answer, “With your hands.”

Steve doesn’t know how to answer that. It doesn’t seem to have been meant with any sort of flirtation. And yet, there is something tantalizingly sexual about it. He swallows, knowing he shouldn’t be thinking that way, thinking of running his hands over the young man’s skin.

“May I see?” Loki asks quietly, feeling suddenly self-conscious. He reaches for the sketchpad. “May I see how you see me?” He licks his lips.

Blue eyes close in a mixture of relief and disappointment. When he opens them he does so with a smile on his face. “Of course.” He hands the sketchpad over. Their fingers make contact, gliding against each other before Steve finally lets go.

Loki studies the drawing. He runs his fingertips over some of the lines as though caressing his own form. He stops. His brow furrows. “I’m missing something.”

“It’s just a sketch. Not a very good one neither.”

He shakes his head, becoming agitated. “I’m missing something. Inside,” he says as he starts to hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “They took it away. They took it all away.”

Steve grabs his wrist and forces it down. “Not all of it,” the Captain assures him, looking into his eyes. “They can never take all of it. They may try, but there’s always a piece of you left deep down inside.” It’s why he switched sides. It’s why he became a Browncoat. He puts a hand on Loki’s knee. “We’ll find it. We’ll find it, and we’ll nurture it. And we’ll help it grow into all the spaces they emptied. You understand me?”

A pale face with wet eyes nods. He hands the sketchpad back to the Captain. “I am Loki of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose,” he says softly as a tear rolls down his cheek.

Steve wipes it gently away with his thumb. He tries to give a cheery smile. “That glorious purpose wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with breakfast, would it? ‘Cause I’ve got a mighty fine hunger.” That gets him a soft smile.

“You are a strange one, Captain.”

“Takes one to know one,” he says in a lighter tone than he feels. He puts his sketchbook back in its hiding place. Standing, he offers his elbow to the guest. “Prince Loki, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the Galley?”

Loki stands tall and straight, head held high. He takes the blond man’s arm. “It would be my absolute pleasure, Captain Rogers.”

When they get to the kitchen area, Steve pulls out a seat for the young man. “Our special for today is pan-fried protein in a protein sauce served with protein on the side.”

He makes a face. “Well that sounds disgusting. I’ll take two.”

“Two?” Steve says in mock surprise.

“One for me and one for my companion. He should be here any moment. Tall. Blond. A wonderful artist. Captains this ship actually.”

Steve smiles. For a moment he thought Loki may have been talking about Thor. “I’ll have that coming right up.” He begins to prepare a meal.

“You know, on Asgard we used to have amazing banquets full of the best meats and cheeses and vegetables. Volstagg, one of Thor’s friends, could eat as though there was no tomorrow. The man was huge.” At Steve’s prompting, Loki begins to describe all of the dishes that would be served. Just as he’s describing the roast quail in butter and rosemary served atop a bed of jasmine rice, Tony walks in.

“Did they use capers?” the engineer asks.

“A little orange peel,” Loki tells him.

Tony looks like he is lost in a wonderful memory. He sits down and says, “I miss butter. We should get butter. It’d make even that crap taste better.”

“Butter?” Steve verifies.

“Yes. But only after we get my compression coil.”

“Need I remind you that we don’t have any money or jobs?”

“Whatever. You’ll figure it out. You always do.”

Steve turns around so that Tony and Loki won’t see the worry on his face. He concentrates on finishing breakfast as they continue to discuss some of the meals from their pasts. Once breakfast is ready, he puts it on two plates and places one in front of Loki. He sets the other one down and sits in front of it.

“Where’s mine?” Tony asks.

Steve looks him right in the eyes. “Waiting for the butter.”

xxx

Loki is in the catwalks watching the others in the cargo bay below play a game that does not appear to have any rules. There are two teams (Steve, Nat, and Phil against Tony, Thor, and Clint), one ball, and one round net placed rather high. Bruce is acting as a type of referee, settling any disputes that come up. There aren’t many.

Virginia walks to where Loki sits and carefully takes a seat next to him. “You didn’t want to play?” she asks.

“He’d be too worried I’d get hurt.”

She wonders for a moment if he means Thor or the Captain. But of course he must mean Thor. “We all get hurt. Perhaps it’d be better if he learned that sooner rather than later.”

“He is happy. They are all happy. In this moment, they are happy. Should we not let them stay that way while we can?” He turns to her with bright green eyes that seem to look into her.

She falters under his gaze. “I suppose there’s no harm in that.”

They turn their attention back to the game and the smiling, laughing participants. Thor scores and looks up. “Did you see that, Brother?” He is very proud of himself.

“I did. Most impressive.” It reminds Loki of watching Thor on the practice fields when they were children. Whenever Thor learned a new move or executed one particularly well, he would ask to make sure Loki had seen it. Loki would always say yes even if he hadn’t. It always seemed to make Thor happy.

The crew continues to play their game.

Virginia watches Tony. She loves this side of him, playfully trash-talking the Captain, pulling nicknames out of books from Earth-That-Was. He looks up at her and smiles.

“Wanna play, Pepper? Come join my team so Bruce can play, too.”

Bruce looks up at her, silently letting her know he’d rather not play but absolutely will if she wants to.

“No, thank you. Loki and I are enjoying the view right here.”

“Okay. If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

They continue their game, laughter and trash-talk predominating the sounds. When Tony asks for a ruling on a possible foul, Bruce sides with Nat then threatens to throw Tony out of the game if he doesn’t stop arguing about it. Tony bumps his chest against Bruce’s. “Oh, you think you can take me?” He bumps their chests together again. “Do you?” But Tony can’t keep a straight face. He’s smiling even as he’s telling Bruce that he’s blind and wouldn’t know a foul if it was done on him. Just as Bruce is telling him to get lost, the proximity alarm goes off.

Everyone stands around and looks at each other. Then they all turn to Clint. “Why are you all looking at me?” he asks. “I’m not flying this thing.” He looks at all of them then does a count. “Oh my God. Everyone’s here. Who’s flying this thing?” He only stops after Natasha gives him a ‘that’s enough’ look. “Oh, right. That’d be me. Be right back,” he assures them. Everyone follows him to the Bridge anyway.

“Is it Alliance?” Thor asks, worry in his tone.

“Nope. Looks like a short-range transport ship,” Clint answers. “Not getting any life on board.”

“Short-range? Out here?” Virginia asks.

Bruce explains that sometimes people will take an old short-range ship and outfit her for a one-way trip to an outer planet. Settlers. People desperate for a new life.

“Families,” the Companion realizes. “What happened to them?”

Clint replies, “Now that is the question of the d-aagh!“

A body, eyes open and lifeless, hits the ship’s windshield. Everyone jumps. It slides off and floats away into space.

Loki backs away and presses himself against the back wall.

“That doesn’t bode well for the others,” Tony notes. “What do you think? He got stir crazy and killed everyone before diving into the vacuum?”

“We should find out,” Shepherd Coulson notes.

Virginia agrees with the Shepherd. Thor is less sure. Sometimes it is best to let the dead lie. Natasha is inclined to agree with him. Bruce stays uneasily silent.

Steve’s got a bad feeling about the fate of the other passengers, but he knows an opportunity when he sees one. “Clint, get us closer.” As the ship gets larger, he asks, “How many people do you think that could carry?”

Tony does a quick calculation in his head. “A good 17 to 20 families. Maybe 25 if they’re crammed in.”

“That’s a lot of folks. Wouldn’t be right to pass on by if they needed help.”

Coulson can’t help but smile. This is his hero coming to the rescue of good folks. It gives him hope that Captain America still does exist.

Natasha’s eyes narrow. She doesn’t want to question her Captain, but she knows that he knows the odds are no one is alive on that ship. Her head tilts slightly, enough to voice her concerns to him.

Steve nods at her. “But if by some horrible chance no one has survived…Tony, how much seed and supplies would that many families need?”

Now Natasha understands.

Tony is smiling. “That many families? Enough to get a couple of compression coils and a whole vat of butter.” 

“You can’t be serious,” Virginia cries.

Phil’s face drops. “You mean to rob these good folks?”

“Can’t rob the dead, Shepherd,” the Captain notes. “They ain’t got no need for it. Others do. We’re just facilitatin’.”

“I’ll go,” Bruce says. “If anyone’s alive, I can help.”

“Nat and I are going in first,” Steve tells him. “If we find anyone, we’ll call. Until then, you all stay put.” He turns to Loki who is still trying to sink into the wall. “You stay put. Understand?”

xxx

Once Clint has maneuvered Avenger into place, the airlock is sealed. Steve and Natasha wear space suits just in case there is a hull breach in the other ship they are unaware of. They walk to the other ship and open the hatch.

It’s dark, eerily so. Quiet, too. The walk in a ways, find a control panel. Nothing seems amiss. There are no hull breaches and the air is fine. They remove the helmets of their space suits and breathe in the stale air.

They find the ship’s Galley. There are dusty plates of food left on the tables and gelled dishes in what appears to be a lunch line.

“Whatever it was must’ve been quick. They didn’t even get to finish their meal,” Natasha notes.

“Does kinda make you wonder where they went.”

They search a few more areas and find the same apparent quick exit. Games are half-played. Books are set down. The place appears to have been emptied in a hurry. There is no clue as to what happened to them. It’s as though everyone just vanished.

“Tony ’ll want to scavenge,” Nat notes.

“Yeah. Call in him and Thor. And Bruce,” he adds. He wants this done quick.

The three men arrive and meet Black Widow and Cap on the ship. “Iron Man, Bruce, go get whatever parts you need. Thor, look around but stay close to Avenger. If something appears valuable, take it. Black Widow and I will look for the main farming supplies.” When the others disperse, he contacts Avenger. “Hawkeye, you got a place for us to start looking?”

“Foredeck cargo hold. It’s a nice big space to put lots of seed.”

“Thanks.” They head out.

xxx

“So,” Tony sings out to his friend. “How are things with you and muscle-boy?”

“I would guess about the same as with you and Pepper,” Bruce replies.

“Pepper and I have nothing to do with it.”

“Tell you what,” the Doctor says as he helps Tony remove a part from the ship, “you can give me relationship advice after you get a real relationship.”

“I have real relationships.”

“Ones where you actually care about the person.”

“I care about you,” Tony notes as he examines the part they just got. “I care about all the crew.” He puts the part in his sack.

“You know that’s not what I mean.” They move on, heading towards the engine room. “I mean Pepper.”

The Engineer shakes his head. “Pepper…Pepper is a professional in more ways than one. And contrary to popular belief, I don’t have a crush on her.”

Bruce thinks it’s funny that Tony believes everyone thinks what he feels for Pepper is only a crush. “So you flirt with her because why?”

“It’s fun,” he replies as though it’s obvious. “Plus it’s free. And yes, Pepper is kinda hot. Who wouldn’t want to flirt with her? Well except every other member of our crew. Clint’s married, which really is no excuse. You think of her as a sister, which I can’t even fathom. And Cap is, well, Cap. I didn’t think he was capable of flirting.”

“Didn’t?” Bruce asks.

“Have you noticed how he is with two-sandwiches-short-of-a-picnic?”

He has, but the corridor they are now on has the Doctor’s attention. “Geez this place is eerie. What do you think happened to all the people?”

“I’d rather not think about it.” So now of course that’s exactly what he’s thinking of. “Hey, tell me again how Thor dropped trou on you.”

“He didn’t…It was a medical exam.”

“And you didn’t take advantage. I am so disappointed.” They turn down a dark corridor. “Seems to me the guy isn’t exactly turning down your advances. I bet if you kissed him, he’d agree to be your sweetie-pie.”

Bruce tries to explain that it isn’t like that. Thor’s main concern is his brother. Everything else is secondary.

“Whatever,” he says before a control panel catches his eye.

xxx

Thor is guarding the way to Avenger as instructed. But something down the hall catches his eye. He thinks he saw movement. He definitely hears a noise. If that is the threat to Avenger and his brother, than he must hunt it down and neutralize it.

He takes another look around to ensure there are no threats from any other direction. Then he takes his hammer Mjolnir in his hand and heads towards the danger.

As soon as he goes, Loki leaves Avenger and walks silently through the corridor. When he gets to the juncture where Thor had been, he goes in the opposite direction as his brother. The voices are calling to him. They will not leave him alone until he sees.

xxx

Natasha opens the doors to the Foredeck cargo bay. It’s dark inside. But there is enough light from their flashlights to see several crates and barrels of cargo over on the left. She and Steve head that way.

One of the barrels is opened. It is full of seed. There doesn’t appear to be any sign of mold or disease on it.

The First Officer whistles. “That is a beautiful sight.”

“Indeed it is. We’ll call the others in. This takes first priority, and it’s going to require a few trips to get all of it,” he tells her.

“What would make someone leave all this?” she wonders aloud.

Steve, noticing a movement behind Natasha, looks over at the entrance, lighting it with his flashlight. His face drops. “I hate to say it, but I think we’re about to find out.”

Natasha follows his eyes to the young man who has just entered the cargo bay. Loki isn’t looking back at them. He’s looking up towards the ceiling.

Both Nat and Steve follow his eyeline, their light and their eyes looking up to the middle of the cargo bay. Their stomachs drop at the sight of dozens of naked bodies hanging in a clump from several metal chains in the ceiling. Not a single one appears to be whole.

Instinctively, Black Widow moves her light down to the floor. “No blood,” she observes. Her light moves back to the bodies. “They weren’t killed here just strung up for no apparent reason.”

The Captain curses. “I know what did this.” He gets on the comm. “Everyone, drop what you’re doing and get back to Avenger. Now.”

There is a pause. “You got it, Cap,” Tony replies.

“Steve?” Nat asks. “What’s wrong? What is it?”

“You’ll find out once we’re on our own ship.” His hand wraps around the young man’s arm gently. “Loki? Let’s go back, okay? It isn’t safe.” Worried green eye turn to him.

“Thor.”

The Captain tries to hail the warrior. He starts to get impatient as he leads the way out for Nat and Loki. “Damn it, Thor! Did you hear me? Get back to the ship.”

“I cannot. I’ve got something cornered in the Galley. It has gone into a cupboard.”

Steve curses again. That makes Nat very nervous. He turns to her. “Take Loki back to Avenger. Have Clint check for any unwelcome passengers.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Get Thor.” He feels a hand grab his arm and sees two green eyes pleading with him. He turns his attention to the young man. “I’ll make sure he’s safe. I’ll make sure he comes back to you.”

“Who will make sure you’re safe, that you’ll return?” Loki asks.

“Don’t worry your head about that. I’ll be fine. Now go,” he orders. He turns to Natasha, “And make sure he doesn’t slip out again.”

“Captain,” she starts to protest.

“That’s an order, Black Widow.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Loki, like Bruce and Tony, has other plans. Despite Natasha’s efforts everyone ends up in the Galley.

Steve scowls when he sees them come in behind him. “I am the Captain, right? You’re supposed to do what I say?”

“Pesky free will,” Tony replies.

Thor points out the closet just in front of them. That is where the creature is hiding.

“Loki,” Steve says turning to him. “Would you please return to Avenger with Natasha?”

“Don’t open the door,” the young man replies.

Tony replies, “Oh we are so opening the door.”

Loki grabs Steve’s arm. “The darkness is unyielding and demands a sacrifice. Some things cannot be mended.”

“Oh goody. More riddles,” the engineer says.

Steve throws Tony a warning look. Then he places a hand on Loki’s shoulder. “We have to at least try. Now please…for me…for Thor go back to Avenger.”

Thor is getting impatient. “Brother, you can still defend yourself, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Hammer raised, Thor pulls open the closet door.

Huddled against the back wall is an older boy, only slightly younger than Loki. He looks up at them with fear and tries to push himself into the wall.

Everyone looks down at him in stunned silence. Loki backs away, hands raised. 

Steve steps forward, crouching down. “Hey. It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you. The bad guys are gone, okay? It’s safe. You can come out of there.” Then the Captain hits him with a right hook. The kid slumps over, knocked out.

“Was that really necessary?” Bruce asks.

“No,” Cap replies. “But it makes life a lot easier.”

“Loki!” Thor exclaims when he realizes his brother is gone.

“Get ‘im please,” the Captain orders. To everyone else he says, “Let’s get this one back to the ship.”

They put the new passenger in the Infirmary. The Captain insists that restraints be put on the unconscious young man. Bruce starts to protest but stops once Cap gives him a hard look. Then everyone assembles in Avenger’s Galley.

“So…did we find out what happened to the ship?” Hawkeye asks.

“Chitauri,” Steve replies. “Killed and strung up all the passengers save one.”

Virginia’s hand covers her mouth in horror. Clint takes Natasha’s hand in his. Thor puts his hand on his brother’s shoulder protectively.

Bruce thought Chitauri didn’t ever leave anyone alive. Tony thinks they must. How else would there be stories about them?

“We should leave,” Natasha says.

“Those killed were strung up you say?” Shepherd Coulson asks. “We should take them down, give them a proper send-off.”

“We should leave,” Clint echoes his wife.

Steve takes a breath. “The supplies are good. We bring those on board. Thor, Black Widow, and I will take care of that. Shepherd, if you want to cut down those bodies during that time, be my guest.”

“I’ll help,” Bruce offers.

“Fine,” Cap says. “Let’s get to it. Hawkeye, Iron Man, on the Bridge please. I want to be sure we’re ready to go once the cargo is on board.” He stands. “Loki,” he realizes. “Stay with Virginia.”

“The prisoner?” Loki asks.

“Stays where he is. Don’t go near him. Understand?”

He nods.

On the Bridge, Tony asks what’s wrong. It’s unusual to have a meeting about being ready to leave in a hurry. They always have to be ready to leave in a hurry.

Cap instructs Hawkeye to turn on the under-ship cameras. Just as he suspected, there are hoses that have attached themselves to Avenger. 

“Is that what I think it is?” Tony asks.

“Yep.”

Clint doesn’t understand. “What am I looking at?” 

It’s a booby trap. If they leave with those still attached, it will blow their engine and leave them dead in space.

Cap looks at Tony. “Think your genius can get us free?”

“Might take a little while, but I’ve got a few ideas.”

“Good. You’ve got till we get the cargo on board. Call in Bruce if you need to.”

Everyone gets busy with their tasks. The Shepherd and the Doctor work to gently lower the mass of bodies hanging from the ceiling as Cap, Black Widow, and Thor move the nearby cargo to the ship. Iron Man gets into his personal red and gold space suit then heads under the ship to where the tethers have latched on.

xxx

Virginia and Loki are in her shuttle feeling useless. “Can we see him?” the young man asks. “On a monitor or something?”

“No,” she replies. “Unfortunately not.”

He looks around. “Companions are rare on my world. Asgardian men don’t like paying for it. It is a sign of diminished virility. Visitors used to bring them, though. And some of the other lands were beginning to see them as a sign of affluence.”

“I’ve never been to Asgard. What’s it like?”

“Beautiful. Violent. I’ve never been to Shinhon. What’s it like?”

“Beautiful. Cutthroat.”

He lies down on the bed. “Tony says this is where the magic happens.”

Virginia rolls her eyes. Leave it to the engineer to use terms like that. “Don’t listen to Tony. He only wishes he could get that kind of magic from me.”

“It is not magic,” Loki tells her sincerely. “You only pretend. Just as you pretend it is sacred.”

It may not be magic by his definition, but it is magic by others. She does not like having her livelihood belittled. “It is sacred and magical in its own way.”

There is a moment of silence before he begins to chant. “Many a lie has been made here, many an ego arisen. Many a man has come and gone, staining the sheets of your prison.”

Virginia wants to throw him out. The rhyme is rude, almost cruel. “What makes you think this is my prison? Avenger is my home. I chose to be here,” she tells him defensively.

Loki decides not to tell her he meant the bed and not the ship. “The man knows nothing but what he is shown. It doesn’t make sense, and he muddles it up.” He touches the pillow she usually uses to sleep. “Dreams are desires and fears and random items from our days. I can’t tell them apart anymore.” His green eyes look at her. “When you dream of what you do in this bed, is it business or pleasure?”

“I’m sure they’ll be done soon,” she says instead of answering his questions.

“There were a lot of bodies. How many do you think we’re responsible for?”

“None,” Virginia replies. “How could we be?”

xxx

“Always so flashy,” Hawkeye notes when he sees Iron Man get into frame.

“You’re just jealous.” He examines the connections. “Okay. I see the problem. You know, for savages these Chitauri are clever little fuckers. This may take awhile.”

“How long?”

“As long as it takes.”

“Yeah, that’s helpful,” Hawkeye says.

“Maybe if you quit asking me questions and let me work it’d be faster.” After a few moments of silence, Iron Man asks, “Hawkeye, you still there, buddy?”

“Oh, so now I’m your buddy.”

“Stop being such a ho tze duh pi gu.”

“Chwee ni duh,” the pilot replies.

“Not that I don’t love the banter,” Iron Man says as he traces one of the hoses to it’s source and back to Avenger, “but what do you think of our new additions?”

“The kid we brought on board? He’s a bit too knocked out for me to have much of an impression.”

“I mean the other new additions – the collar and the brothers Grimm.”

Clint shrugs even though he knows Tony can’t see. “Coulson seems cool for a Shepherd. Thor seems friendly enough. A bit too fond of the violence for my taste but at least he’s on our side and can take over some of the muscle duties from my wife.”

“And Thor’s carry-on luggage?” he asks as he traces another hose.

“Kinda creepy. But Cap seems to have a soft spot for ‘im.”

“Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”

“Guess he has a soft spot for folks who’ve been experimented on.”

“Seems too on-the-nose.” Keeping his hand on the hose, Iron Man pulls the bolt cutters that are magnetically attached to his suit away from his body. Awkwardly maneuvering them into place, he says, “I’m thinking there’s more to it. And not just Cap being his normal protect-the-innocent self either.” He takes a breath and cuts. 

The hoses snake away from Avenger’s hull.

Hawkeye lets out the breath he had been holding since the bolt cutters came out. “Nice work, Iron Man.”

“I know. See you inside.”

xxx

The bodies are laid out on the ground of the other ship. They try not to think about where the missing pieces are now. Rumors have the Chitauri doing horrific acts such as rape, skinning victims alive, eating them. The state of these bodies suggests the rumors are true. It also suggests that they are wasteful. Bruce tries to keep that wastefulness at the top of his mind as he helps Coulson with the bodies. It’s better than thinking about the other things.

Shepherd Coulson is saying a word of prayer as Cap and Black Widow take the last barrel to Avenger. Bruce and Thor stand vigil and pray, too. Once they are done, they return to their ship and find Iron Man with his mask open telling Cap they are clear to depart.

“Problems?” Bruce asks.

Tony smiles at him. “Nothing to worry your pretty little head about.”

“Let’s get these supplies stowed away,” the Captain orders. Into the comm he says, “Hawkeye, fly us out.”

Just then the proximity alert begins to come alive.

“Uh…” comes the pilot’s voice once the alert has been turned off.

Steve closes his eyes. Uhs are never good. “What is it?”

“We’ve got an Alliance Cruiser hailing us.”

The Captain takes a breath and quickly assesses the situation. “Reply back. Do whatever they want.”

“What?!” Thor exclaims.

Cap turns to Thor and Natasha. “Don’t stow the goods. Put them in the center of the dock nice and visible.” He holds up his hand before the Asgardian can interrupt. “Then, Thor, you go get your brother. You two and Bruce need to take a walk.”

“A walk?! Where?!”

“Outside,” he answers. “Sorry, Bruce,” he adds. “If you can think of a better idea…”

Bruce slowly shakes his head. “It’s fine. As long as we don’t get caught.”

“Plan is for _us_ to get caught, not you.”

“When have our plans ever gone right?” the Doctor asks.

xxx

The airlock door opens. Five armed Alliance soldiers enter Avenger to find six people standing with their hands up around several barrels of goods.

“This everyone?”

“Yes, Sir,” Steve replies. “Save one that we rescued off that ship. He’s in our Infirmary.” He points to where it is with his thumb.

“How do we know you didn’t attack that ship yourselves?”

Steve hates Alliance. Their stupidity is only one of many reasons. “Then why would we save one of its people? Besides, that ship has been dead in the water a lot longer then we’ve been here. Feel free to compare our logs.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I will. Take these people to interrogation, and go get the patient they say they have. After that, take this cargo into the cruiser, and search this ship for any other illegal goods.”

Everyone is taken to separate rooms. Typical Alliance.

Cap knows they won’t get anything out of Black Widow. They’ll be lucky if they get her to say more than two words per answer. In point of fact, her longest answer is six words. “That’s really none of your business.”

Hawkeye will most likely babble about his wife and some of the odd things he’s seen in his travels. It’s true. He regales his captors with tales of how he once saw someone juggling goslings and how amazing Natasha is in bed. He can’t seem to emphasize enough just how extraordinary she is. “An absolute tiger in bed. Rawr. You know what I mean? Of course you don’t.”

Iron Man will amuse himself by proving he’s the smartest guy in the room. No doubt he’ll try to hack into the Alliance systems somehow. That’s exactly what he does. He needs to be sure that his identity is kept hidden. Not that he cares all that much at this point, but if the current owners of Stark Industries knew he was alive and where, that could cause a whole lot of trouble for Captain Rogers and the rest of the crew. Also, the hack will allow them to monitor how close the Alliance is to finding Bruce and the Asgardian brothers. During the interrogation itself, Tony mainly talks ship engines, explaining why the Cruiser’s engines really aren’t powerful enough. “I bet I could get these flying cities to run on half the number of engines you currently have.” 

Virginia will be very polite and just a bit haughty but in a way that will make the soldiers feel special. She smiles at them and tries to explain that being on a starship helps her expand her client base. “Also, I’ve just always wanted to travel. And since I’m only on a world for a few days or weeks at a time, I can charge a premium, especially on those worlds where Companions rarely visit.”

Coulson is the wildcard. But Steve is pretty sure the Shepherd won’t give up the three men currently floating outside. He doesn’t. Instead he tells them about the abbey and his garden. “There’s nothing like growing your own food. It really gives you a sense of accomplishment.” When they ask why he is travelling now, he tells them the Lord directed him to. “And who am I to disobey?”

A man in a spiffy uniform and flat hat comes into the room where Captain Rogers is being held. He is holding a tablet. He sits across from Steve.

“Captain Steven Rogers. Owner of Firefly Class starship Avenger. Formerly known as Captain America. Alliance created you, then you abandoned her and went traitor.”

“She abandoned me first,” Cap tells him. He forces a smile onto his face. “But that was a long time ago. War ’s over. Life goes on.”

“It does. Looks like it’s practically passed you by. The great Captain America has fallen on hard times.”

“We get by.”

“Uh-huh.” He looks through some more data. “Says here you took off from Kree not too long ago.”

“That’s right.”

“Two brothers escaped Kree right around that time.”

“Did they?”

“They are believed to have escaped on a Firefly class starship. We aren’t going to find those men on board your ship, are we, Captain America?”

“Name ‘s Captain Rogers, and no you aren’t.”

There is a knock. The door opens. Another soldier is there in the same spiffy outfit. He beckons for the interrogator to join him outside. The two men are gone for just a few moments before the original guy returns. He grabs Steve by the collar and lifts him up. Well, he tries.

Cap just sits and asks, “Wanna tell me what this is all about?”

The soldier, giving up on moving the Captain, draws his weapon. “Stand up slowly. Hands behind your head.”

Cap raises his hands. “What happened?”

“You sick pi gu.”

“Wanna fill me in?”

“We found the kid in your Infirmary. At least, we found what’s left of him.”

Steve is confused, concerned. “What do you mean ‘what’s left of him’?”

“You split his tongue open, sliced through his cheek. You mutilated him.”

Cap swallows. “You’re making a mistake. We didn’t do this. He did. Where is he now?”

“You really expect me to believe that? Stand up!”

“Don’t matter what you believe. Just lock that fellow up.”

“You bastard. He’s getting the medical attention he needs.”

Cap bangs his palms on the table. “Listen to me! That boy has seen something awful, so awful the only way he could deal with it was to become it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Chitauri. Chitauri hit that boy’s ship.”

“The Chitauri don’t exist,” the soldier says, but there is fear in his eyes.

“They exist all right. And they hit that ship. And what they done to those people, they made him watch them do it. That’d drive any man crazy.” Steve continues despite the soldier shaking his head in denial. “Only two ways to go after witnessing something like that. You kill yourself, or you become the thing you fear. Guess which one he’s doing.”

“You’re mad.”

“Don’t believe me? Fine. But I suggest you tie him down ‘fore more blood gets spilled.”

“We’re doing no such thing. We’re not savages.”

“Yeah? Well he is.” Cap huffs out a breath in frustration. “At least send someone to check on the boy. If I’m wrong, no harm done. But if I’m right…?”

The soldier’s gaze falters. “Fine,” he says. He sends a message for someone to go check on the kid.

xxx

Bruce and Thor are happy to be back on the ship. Loki rather liked the outside. It made him feel free.

They take off the suits, hanging them up in the closet where they are kept. They head to Bruce’s room, figuring it would be safer to hole up there until the others get back. But first, the Doctor wants to swing by the Infirmary to check if the kid is still there. He isn’t, and the Infirmary looks completely disheveled.

The door had been locked from the outside, so Bruce can only assume that the kid had been removed by Alliance soldiers. They must have destroyed the room out of spite or some idiotic display of dominance. 

They head up the back stairs to the hall near the Engine Room. In the upper level, they head to the Galley, beyond which is the hall with the crew dorms.

Loki grabs their arms suddenly. There is something wrong, something bad. He doesn’t want to go there.

“Loki?”

He shakes his head, fear in his eyes.

“Loki?”

xxx

The alarms go off. A red light starts blinking on and off as a siren starts to blare.

“Sometimes I hate being right,” Cap mumbles. He stands.

The soldier freaks out. He points his gun at the Captain once again. “What are you doing?”

“Odds are he’s headed for my ship. I ain’t givin’ it up without a fight.”

“Why your ship?”

Cap hates that he has to waste time explaining this. “Smaller. More familiar. Now can I go?”

“You wanna go?” The soldier tosses a pair of handcuffs on the table. “Put those on,” he orders.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me.”

“I’m not. Now put them on or stay here.”

The Captain puts on the handcuffs, interrupted once to be told to cuff himself behind his back. He doesn’t care. He can easily break free of them if needed. “Satisfied? Can we go now?”

The gun in the soldier’s hand motions towards the door. “Lead the way.”

Steve really hopes Bruce, Thor, and Loki are still in space. He can’t allow himself to think about that right now. Right now, he needs to get that madman off his ship.

They come across a few spots of blood on the floor. Cap points it out, allowing that solid proof to vindicate him.

They are joined by four other soldiers. Steve knows all five of them aren’t worth one Natasha. But sometimes you have to work with what you’re given.

There is blood on Avenger’s airlock door. Cap points it out with a large gesture. “Believe me now?”

They go inside, weapons drawn.

“Hey, how about removing these cuffs?” Cap asks as they push him in first.

xxx

Bruce and Thor have managed to drag Loki about halfway through the Galley when the sound of voices and boots on steel are suddenly heard ahead of them. The two men look at each other then back at Loki, who looks even more distraught.

They retreat back into the Aft Hall and shrink against the walls. Thor has his arm flung across Loki’s chest, holding him in place.

Green eyes grow big as he sees the Captain leading the group. His hands are now handcuffed in front of him. The soldiers push him towards the Galley.

“I’m telling you, we should have gone to the Infirmary first,” Cap is saying. “That’s what he’s familiar with.”

“Shut up,” one of the soldier’s whispers harshly.

Cap sees Thor in the Aft Hall. This surprises him, an unwelcome surprise. “The kid escaped. He’s either going to go to the Infirmary or the Bridge, which is behind us. We should go the other way.” He turns around. “Bridge is behind you,” he tells the man he meets.

The soldier motions for two soldiers to go towards the Bridge. Then he turns back around and starts to go further into the Galley. Cap tries to block him as much as possible, hoping Bruce, Thor, and Loki will be able to get below.

There’s a scream.

Cap immediately breaks the handcuffs apart as another scream comes. This one is short, transforming into a wet gurgling sound. The Captain strides forward with the three remaining soldiers.

There’s a flash of red-stained metal. Another one goes down but not before he gets a shot off with his gun. 

The boy screams, a primal rage-filled scream that promises death. His clothes are stained red. His face is split open, making him look like some half-finished Frankenstein monster. He lifts the blood-covered blade again and charges.

The two remaining soldiers start shooting the kid over and over again.

The kid, face disfigured and body full of holes, falls to the ground, eyes open and lifeless. The knife hits the floor with a clank and is quickly surrounded in blood.

Steve closes his eyes, telling himself this is not the war, this is not his fault.

One of the wounded soldiers can stand. He isn’t wounded too bad, more spooked than anything. He helps carry the others back to the Alliance ship.

“I want my people released immediately,” Cap says with quiet force. It’s taking a lot of control to not go check on the members of his crew that are on his ship.

“Of course. We’ll have them back on board within the hour.”

He watches them go. Only then when he is sure they are off his ship does he go to find Bruce, Thor, and Loki. They are still against the side of the Aft Hall.

“You okay?”

They nod. Loki walks up hesitantly and touches his arm.

Steve reaches up and moves some of the dark hair behind the young man’s ear. “I’m fine. Still real.”

“Still here?”

He feels his chest constrict. “Still here.” He looks at them all. “Get to Bruce’s room, and stay put until I get you.” 

“Cap,” Bruce asks, “what happened?”

“I’ll tell you when we’re all back together.” The Captain heads back down to wait for the rest of his crew.

xxx

Steve doesn’t tell them anything until they are well away from the Alliance cruiser. Then he has everyone gather around the table in the Galley and tells them about the boy’s self-destructive transformation and his ultimate fate. “My guess is, the guy who bumped into us to begin with was also made to watch. He chose to deal with it differently.”

Everyone is silent for a while.

Clint is the first to speak. “Given that you pretty much saved their asses, they could have at least let you keep the cargo.”

“Would have been too much like a reward, like winning,” Steve replies. “Alliance forbid we should ever win.”

Tony sighs. He waves at the ceiling. “There go my dreams of butter. Bye, dreams of butter.”

Virginia rubs her own arms as though she is cold. “Would have been better if the Chitauri had just killed him.”

“Now he’s at rest at least,” Shepherd Coulson notes. “Would have liked to have said some words over him before they took him away.”

“Better you didn’t see the results,” Cap tells him.

Natasha realizes something. “You were afraid that was going to happen. That’s why you had us tie him down when he was in the infirmary.”

“Sometimes war knowledge comes in handy.”

“War knowledge? I was at war, too, Cap,” she reminds him.

“As was I,” Thor tells them. “But I have never seen anything like that.”

“Then be glad you had a nicer war than I did.” He gets up. “Be with your wife, Barton. I’ve got the Bridge.”

Virginia follows him. “Want to talk about it?” she asks once he’s seated in front of the console.

“I really don’t.”

“Company then?”

“No, thank you.” He turns to look at her with his blue eyes. “Go be with Tony. Tell him to check your shuttle. I want to be sure it isn’t having any problems.” When she looks at him questioningly, he adds, “You pay good money to rent that thing. Want to be sure you’re getting your money’s worth.”

She nods and leaves him alone.

As instructed, Virginia asks Tony to look over her shuttle. He goes with her without complaint. Clint and Nat head to their room to hold each other and make love. Something about getting close to death always increases their libidos. Bruce goes with the three passengers to their quarters. Shepherd Coulson holds an impromptu prayer session. Loki, feigning fatigue, excuses himself, saying he is going to his room. It is a lie.

Loki finds the Captain staring off into the star-pricked darkness outside. He walks up quietly and runs a hand through the blond hair. The blue eyes close when he does this.

“You should be resting,” Steve tells him.

The young man says nothing. He turns the Captain’s chair and sits in his lap.

Steve wraps his arms around him and pulls him close, burying his nose against Loki’s neck just where it meets the shoulder. Sweat and something like cinnamon greets his nose. Something else, too, something rich, something out of reach. A hand continues to stroke his hair. “I’m tired,” he admits.

“I know.”

“I can’t let them down.”

“You won’t.”

Steve allows himself this moment of weakness before feeling the old fire in his belly again. He slowly lets Loki go, pulling back and looking up into the green eyes. He can’t describe what he sees in them. “Thor will wonder where you are.”

“He thinks I’m in my room.”

They continue looking at each other, their hands soft but never letting go.

Loki closes his eyes, feeling the lust that’s coming from the closest room. He opens them again, eyes dilated, mouth slightly open. He licks his lips. “I should go. Thor will wish to check up on me.”

Steve gives a couple of little nods. “You seem better today,” he notes, not wanting the young man to leave just yet.

“Depends on whom you ask. And compared to Little Chitauri, it is hard not to seem sane.” The soldier’s hand strokes his cheek. It feels nice, normal. He places his own over the Captain’s hand. “All the King’s horses and all the King’s men, wished to tear Loki apart again.” He sees the change in the blue eyes. “Not so much better then,” Loki says through a sad smile.

“Who’s the King, Loki?”

The dark-haired man gets up. “There are many kings in many lands.”

“You’re a Prince though, right? So the King is your father?” Cap feels like he might be getting somewhere.

“Both of many but neither concerned.” He backs away to the entrance.

“Wait,” Steve says, reaching out and capturing Loki’s wrist. He ends up standing, facing the expressive green eyes.

Loki moves forward suddenly, giving the Captain a light kiss on the cheek. His lips move to the blond’s ear. “Some things cannot be mended,” he whispers. Then he turns and rushes away.

Steve is left stunned and confused. He argues with himself about whether to ask Thor about his and Loki’s father. The more he learns, the more questions he has. And then he wonders if any of the questions really matter. Every member of his crew came out here to start a new life. The reasons don’t matter. Loki and Thor are no different.

He gets up and walks to Loki’s room. He knocks before opening the door. He’s a little surprised to find Loki reading. “Just came to tell you I don’t care. I don’t care who the King is or what they did to you. I just care that you’re safe now. And I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe. What happened to that boy today won’t happen to you.”

“There are some things not even Captain America can control.”

“Well, he’s going to do his damnedest to try.”

Loki smiles. “You are so earnest. It is sweet. I could eat you alive.”

That last sentence makes Steve very uncomfortable. “I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

He nods solemnly as the smile fades. “Actions appropriate in one setting are not in another. Tailor your words and your actions to the surroundings. Learn the customs. Understand the expectations. Use it to your advantage. Act accordingly.”

“Or maybe just don’t talk about eating people after dealing with a Chitauri attack,” Steve suggests.

Loki nods again.

He should go. He knows this. “What are you reading?”

A slight blush comes over the pale cheeks. “The Unauthorized History of Captain America.”

Steve nods, not quite sure how to take that. “Don’t know how true that is. If you have questions…”

“You fought for the Alliance.”

“For a spell.”

“Then you didn’t. Why the change?”

Cap considers his answer. “There’s a saying. Ignorance is bliss. It’s true. Ignorance is bliss. Knowledge, on the other hand, knowledge is dangerous. Makes you question your purpose, your loyalties. Makes you wonder if you’re on the right side. I gained some knowledge. Couldn’t un-gain it. Decided then and there to switch sides.” He shrugs. “Simple but quite the life changer.”

“And now Captain America is dead.”

“He is indeed.”

Loki swallows before asking his next question. “Do you regret becoming him?”

“No. I helped a lot of good people because of it. Saved a few lives even. So no, I don’t regret it. Neither should you. You made the decision based on the information you had at the time. Can’t fault yourself for what you didn’t know.”

He wants to believe the Captain, but it’s hard not to regret something that made Thor give up his life, that makes him question his sanity, his identity almost every moment of every day.

“You should find something more pleasant to read,” Steve suggests. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Captain?”

“Yes, Loki?”

“I like the stars. I don’t always like what’s around them.”

“Me neither. We won’t be near any for a while yet. So you get some rest, okay? You had a big day what with finding the bodies and walking in space.”

“I preferred space.”

“I bet you did. Someone will come get you when dinner ‘s ready.” And with that, the Captain walks away, leaving Loki with a little more hope than he had before.


	4. The Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fury has a job for the Avenger crew. But just going to secure it may cost one of them their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based on the Firefly episode “Shindig” by Jane Expenson. The idea for this crossover is by thefigment who suggested 98% of the recasting and who has made this chapter 100% better.
> 
> Yes I am still working on this story little by little, bit by bit, trying to make sure each chapter is worthy of the two properties it's based on. I apologize for the multi-month wait. I hope you enjoy it.

Loki, wearing the black cotton pajama pants the Captain gave him, wanders into the engine room where Tony is starting to patch up some wiring. “Hey there, Daffy,” the engineer calls.

“My name is not Daffy. It’s Loki.”

“Well someone doesn’t have a sense of humor.”

Loki takes a closer look at the wiring and says, “I have a sense of humor. The name Daffy is simply unfunny.”

“It is from where I am. Shouldn’t you be in bed?” It’s late or early depending on one’s perspective, and everyone else is in their bunks.

Loki shrugs. “Do you need help?”

“Uh,” Tony looks around and sees the tool he needs on the other side of the room. “Hand me that wire cutter.”

The young man retrieves the needed item and puts it in the engineer’s hand. He watches as Tony cuts one of the wires, strips it of a couple of centimeters of protective coating, cuts the edges again, then solders it back in, talking as he does.

“So how badly does the Alliance want you back?” the engineer asks.

“I don’t know. Very, I suspect.” He starts to rub his arms as though he were cold or nervous.

“Very? So is that ‘very’ as in they’ll be actively hunting you down until you’re caught or they’ll be actively hunting you down for about a month then forget all about you?”

Loki understands. “I’m putting you in danger.”

“Not just me, the entire crew.”

He holds his arms tighter. “She thinks about you sometimes when she’s trapped in her bed.”

“Who?” Tony asks, stopping his work. He thinks he knows who but would like confirmation.

“You make her angry and sad.”

“That describes a lot of people,” Tony points out.

Loki thinks of the Captain. “I do not wish to put you in danger.”

“Yeah? Well, you are. I’d just like to know how much.” He leans back to get a better look at his work. “That should do it. Thanks for the assist.”

Loki nods. “Why do you call her Pepper?”

Tony counts out the points on his fingers. “She’s a redhead. She’s fiery. She’s hot. Any other questions?”

“Does she have a sense of humor?”

“She does.”

“Natasha is more of a redhead than Ms. Potts.”

“Pepper ‘s hotter.”

Loki considers that for a moment then leaves.

“Bye,” Tony calls after him.

The young man walks towards the front of the ship. Everything is quiet. The Galley, which is so full of life when they eat together, seems so empty. He brushes his fingers over the back of the Captain’s chair and continues forward to the Bridge. It’s empty. He turns around and goes to the door of the Captain’s quarters.

His hand reaches out and touches the metal. He pushes in and climbs down the ladder, closing the door when he’s through.

It’s very dark. Loki waits for his eyes to adjust. They eventually do, but it’s still difficult to see. He carefully walks to the bed and sits.

Steve is asleep on his back, looking peaceful with the covers pulled up to his chest and his arms above the covers.

If Loki could watch him, he would. But it’s too dark. The Captain is barely more than an outline. Instead he reaches out and gently touches the Captain’s arm. “You’re real,” he breathes. Then he lies down on top of the covers and looks at the man sleeping next to him. He can barely make out the features, but they are there.

The Captain’s presence, the sound of his breathing, the warmth coming off of him all put Loki at ease. The green eyes grow heavy, opening less and less to look at the sleeping form in the darkness next to him. Sooner than Loki realizes, the eyes don’t open at all.

xxx

Steve’s arm is cold. Arm. Singular. The other one is warm with the weight of… Weight? He can hear someone else breathing. At this point some men might jump up and yell and turn on the light. Captain Steve Rogers opens his eyes to assess the situation.

He turns his head and tries to look at the person sharing his bed in the darkness. There is no smell of rank oil or flowery perfumes, just a light touch of tangy sweat. There are only two possibilities: Nat or Loki.

If it’s Nat, then she and Clint would have had an argument. She would have woken him if that were the case. And Clint would have been right there with her to give his side of the story. The only other explanation for her to be there would be if Clint was seriously wounded. Steve knows he isn’t. So not Nat.

Loki then. Which makes this his own fault. Great.

Part of him wants to let the guy sleep. He seems so peaceful.

The other part knows what Thor’s reaction would be if he found them like this.

“Loki?” Steve says softly. Nothing happens. “Loki?” he tries again, this time moving his arm a bit.

The young man whimpers and holds his arm tighter.

“Shit.” He tries to turn on the lamp, but it is of course out of reach. This time he uses a louder voice. “Loki?”

Nothing.

He tries to free his arm, but the sleeping man won’t cooperate, snuggling closer instead of letting go.

The Captain runs his fingers through the dark hair. “Loki? I need you to wake up.” He presses his nose to the cool forehead. “Did you hear me? Wake up.”

“Is it morning?” a groggy voice asks.

“Most likely. You can’t be here.”

Green eyes open, afraid they’ve done something wrong. “You said I could come.” His voice shakes slightly.

“I know I did. Didn’t mean you could stay.”

Loki curls in on himself but lets go of the arm. He starts to get up as Steve turns on the light.

The young man is shirtless and sitting on the edge of the bed facing away from the Captain. He’s trying to adjust to the new brightness. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to trouble you.”

“You aren’t,” Steve tells him. “It’s just…If your brother were to find you here…”

Loki turns to look at him, his eyes wide and innocent. “I was above the covers.” It is then that he realizes the Captain is wearing only boxer shorts.

The words are said so sincerely that Steve laughs. He immediately regrets it. “Hey, hey, I’m sorry.” He climbs over the top of the bed and sits next to his visitor. His fingers again run through the dark hair. “You were above the covers, and I appreciate that. But I don’t think Thor will care.” 

“I could explain,” Loki offers.

Steve smiles at him. “We should get you back to your bed.” He stands up and offers his hand. “Come on. I’ll escort you.”

Loki stands tall and princely, hurt in his eyes. “I can find my own way, thank you. My apologies. I’ll not bother you again,” he says as he walks proudly to the entrance. He’s gone before Steve can stop him. 

The Captain follows the young man out. Catching up to him in the Galley, he grabs the toned arm and forces the man around as gently as he can. “Loki…” And now he doesn’t know what to say. The sight of the half-naked man standing in front of him takes his breath away. All he wants to do is draw him.

Green eyes look at the Captain with cold anger and hurt. The proud mouth remains closed as the nostrils flare. He has no intention of making this easy.

“I’m sorry,” Steve finally says, cursing his own weakness. “If you want to come back and sleep, that’s fine. You can go under the covers, and I’ll stay on top.”

“Why? You don’t want me there.”

“I want you wherever you feel most comfortable. Now I’m sure Thor would prefer that be in your bed by your lonesome. But if it’s with me or him or,” he shrugs and shakes his head, “then that’s where you should be.”

Loki touches Steve’s cheek with a tentative hand, the anger seeping out of his eyes. “But Thor will be angry at you.”

“We’ll just explain that you…feel safe with me? And that he has nothing to worry about.”

“With you two making goo-goo eyes at each other?” Tony says walking in from the aft hall. “Yeah. Nothing to worry about there.”

The sudden change in mood makes Loki’s teeth hurt.

“That’s not...You’re not helping,” Steve tells him harshly.

“Not trying to.” Tony passes them to get himself something to drink. “You should just kiss already and get it over with.”

“Loki, come on. Let’s get you back to your room,” the Captain says as Loki walks up to the engineer.

Tony turns around to find Loki directly in front of him. Next thing he knows, he’s being kissed by the young man. It’s chaste but hard. By the time he realizes what’s happening, it’s over. “Ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng. I meant him not me,” he says pointing at the Captain.

Loki sticks his tongue out at him then leaves, heading back to his room. Hopefully the engineer will think twice about inserting himself into their business in future. Kiss and get it over with indeed. Sometimes a kiss can mean less than a touch on the cheek.

Steve presses his lips together to prevent himself from laughing. “You kind of asked for it.”

“Did not. Shouldn’t you be going after your special project?”

“He’s not my special project,” Steve replies then goes after Loki. The door is closed by the time he gets there. He knocks. “Loki? Can I come in?”

“No.”

“Please?”

There is a pause before the passenger’s voice says, “Fine.”

Steve walks in and sees Loki lying with his back turned to the door. He sits on the bed and puts a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “You’re real,” he says.

“Am I?”

“You feel real to me. Would you like me to stay with you?”

“No.”

Steve is a little hurt by that. He knows he shouldn’t be, but he is. “You sure?”

“I’m sure. Please leave, Captain.” The voice is formal, distant.

“Okay. Sleep tight.” He gets up and leaves the room, giving the resting form one last look before closing the door and heading back to his own quarters.

xxx

Virginia walks into the Galley and sees Tony wolfing down some food and licking his fingers. “Did you lose all your manners, or did you never have any in the first place?”

“Manners? What’s that?” He gives her a teasing smile. “What’s wrong? Don’t like a man that licks his fingers? Not even after they’ve been in you?”

She gives him a disgusted look. “You’re so crass.”

“That’s why you love me. You need a little crass in your life.”

“Oh, please. I barely tolerate you.” She gets herself a drink.

“More or less than the way you tolerate your clients?”

“At least my clients respect me,” she counters.

“Is that what they’re calling it now? I remember when they used to call it fucking.”

Pepper scowls. “I think you have me confused with a common whore. Whores fuck. Companions share the sacred ritual of sex.”

Tony laughs. “Sacred ritual of sex? Oh, please. That’s just a fancy-schmancy way of saying fucking.” He stands up and walks over to her, trapping her against the counter. “You think your fancy clients think of it as a ritual. Believe me, they don’t.”

She refuses to be intimidated. “Oh, you speak from experience do you?”

“Maybe.”

Virginia takes a step forward, forcing him to step back. “Doubtful. Even if you could have ever afforded a Companion, I doubt one would have served someone as self-centered and egotistical as you.” She takes another step forward. “And if by chance you managed to fool one of us into actually taking you on as a client, I highly doubt you would have been given repeat status.”

“I’ve never had to pay for it, thank you very much,” he says defensively.

“It’s not about having to pay, tyen tsai. It’s about status.”

“Yeah well status is about trying to impress others. I don’t need to pay for a woman to impress others. I don’t need to impress others at all.”

“Clearly,” Virginia sneers then walks primly back to her shuttle.

Tony shakes his head and only then notices the Captain standing at the forward entrance. “How long have you been there?”

“Long enough to see you making goo-goo eyes at each other. You really should just kiss already and get it over with,” Steve says. He walks in and gets something to eat.

“You’re an ass.”

“And you’re a fool.” 

Clint walks in. Natasha is behind him. “I agree with both of those statements,” the pilot says. “We still heading back to Kree? And do you plan on putting some clothes on? Because I’m feeling a little…what’s the word?”

“Inadequate?” Nat offers.

“Yeah, that.”

“Yes on both counts,” Cap confirms. “Hoping we can find some work on Kree.”

Natasha notes that the planet is starting to feel a little like home what with how often they’ve started to go there. “Is that wise?” she asks. “Considering what we brought on board last time.”

Tony asks if that means she doesn’t like their new passengers.

“They’re fine. I’d just like to avoid picking up more fugitives and lawmen. We’re running out of room.”

“No passengers,” Steve confirms. “Can’t exactly pick anyone up with Asgard’s most wanted on board.”

Steve goes to put on some clothes, then they have breakfast, Bruce and the passengers eventually joining them. Loki is quiet and refuses to eat. Thor fusses over him but to no avail. Steve considers trying to help, but when he gets up he sees the green eyes looking at him angrily. Instead he puts his dishes away and heads to the Bridge.

“You must eat something, Brother.”

Loki shakes his head. He doesn’t feel like talking. He’s not hungry. And he just wishes everyone would leave him alone. He finally just leaves and goes back to his room.

xxx

Virginia looks through the messages on her account. Once she learned they were returning to Kree, she submitted her information to be included in the notices. Now she has multiple messages from people, mostly men, wanting the pleasure of her company. A few she rejects immediately – mainly men whom she’s been with before and did not like.

Just as she’s about to view the message of one of the remaining candidates, a call comes through. It’s Aldrich Killian, a very wealthy scientist. He is tan and blond and very handsome.

“Hello, Aldrich,” she greets with a smile.

“Virginia, you look radiant as always. Did you get my invitation?”

“I did get it, but I have not viewed it. I was actually just about to do that when you called.”

He smiles with his perfect white teeth. “Then I will save you the trouble. The Stan Lee Ball is tomorrow night. Be my guest for it and the entire weekend. Let me be the envy of every man in the room.”

It is nice to hear a man flatter her instead of belittling her. But she can’t be too easy. Otherwise she might lose some of her allure. “I had no idea my arrival coincided with _the_ event of the season.”

“Well it does. And I praise my luck for it. Will you join me? Please? I’ll even take you on a tour of my lab. I know how you love that sort of thing.”

She smiles. “I would be honored. Thank you, Aldrich.”

“No, Virginia dear, thank you.”

“Well didn’t he look fancy,” Tony says as he walks in.

The smile disappears. “I certainly hope you weren’t eaves-dropping on my conversations. I’d hate to have to inform the Captain that my privacy is being violated.”

Tony ignores her, instead leaning in close to the monitor. “Aldrich Killian. Sounds fancy.”

“He is.”

“Wait a minute. I know this guy.” Aldrich had just started building his company when Tony did his disappearing act. Being from two different worlds (literally not figuratively), they never actually met. But Tony remembers hearing things about the guy. And when Killian and his company starting hitting the tech news, Tony’s opinion of him didn’t get any better. He was a wanna-be, someone who acquired companies rather than creating things on his own. The guy even tried to buy Stark Enterprises. Thankfully that didn’t happen. “He’s a quack.”

“He’s not a…Forget it,” she says in frustration. “Did you need something?”

“Just wanted to let you know we land on Kree in a couple of hours. It’ll be morning.” Tony glances again at the picture. “So, how long did he book you for?”

“The entire weekend,” she tells him proudly.

“Wow. He must be desperate. Good thing he’s rich.”

Pepper informs him that they will be attending the biggest party of the season. When he asks if all men are paying for their dates or if that was just Aldrich, she replies, “Not everyone there can attract a Companion.”

“You mean pay. Can’t help but feel sad for a guy who has to pay for his dates.”

“At least Aldrich has a job that doesn’t involve crime.”

“Really? That’s your big selling point? His job doesn’t involve crime? Oh wait, I forgot about the fancy party he’s taking you to. So two selling points.”

“Are you done?”

“What is Aldrich’s job exactly?” He knows; he just wants to hear her describe it.

She tells him that Aldrich owns his own technology company. Tony is unimpressed and tells her so. “Men who own companies generally have very little time for anything else,” he tells her. Unless of course someone is running it for them and tells them nothing about it. He’s not bitter. Okay, he’s a little bitter. Maybe a lot bitter. At least here he gets to create things, and Cap generally leaves him alone as long as Avenger is working. “But I suppose as long as you get your money, it’s probably better for you if you don’t have to service him.”

“For your information, Aldrich has quite the stamina. I seriously doubt you could keep up with him.”

The taunting smile that had been on his face disappears. “Yeah, well, be sure to put on that extra special whoring make-up for your big date.” He leaves her shuttle feeling like a complete ass.

xxx

The sun shines brightly on Kree. Everyone but Thor, Loki, and Virginia are out buying supplies, relishing the warmth of the natural light. The brothers do not want to risk being seen in case their pictures are still being circulated.

Virginia is in her shuttle flying to Aldrich’s mansion. Tony had watched it fly away, telling himself he didn’t care. Instead he continued to follow the others into the center of town. That was some time ago though. He’s still thinking about it.

Now they are on their way back to the ship with several supplies – food mostly amongst other things. As they pass, a shop window catches Tony’s eye. On display is a shiny grey three-piece suit with a black shirt and a grey tie with thin black stripes. “I could wear the hell out of that suit,” he mutters, remembering when his wardrobe used to consist of clothes like that.

“You think?” Clint asks. “Seems a bit flashy.”

“A bit?” Steve says, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. “If it were any flashier it could be seen from space.”

“Didn’t realize you were the fashion police, Captain Tightpants,” Tony says.

“I ain’t. And if you got invited to fancy parties, it’d make sense for you to want it. But I don’t see anyone handing you an envelope.”

“You don’t think I could get one?”

“I think even if you did Virginia wouldn’t be impressed with flashy duds. She’d still see the real man beneath them.”

“This isn’t about Virginia,” Tony says.

“Of course not,” Cap replies sarcastically. “’Cause that there is perfectly acceptable attire to fix my engine.”

Tony continues, “I also have it on good authority that Virginia Potts is very impressed by men in flashy duds.”

“We aren’t talking about men, Tony. We’re talking about you.”

Tony makes no reply, which is highly unusual for the engineer. Talking with Loki so recently about the foods he used eat and seeing Pepper sell herself to Aldrich Killian of all people has got him missing his old life pretty hard. He clenches his jaw and glares at the Captain.

“Cap,” Bruce says sternly. “We’ll see you on the ship.”

Bruce’s voice and Tony’s face tell Steve he overstepped. “Tee wuh duh pee-goo,” Cap says to himself as Bruce, Tony, and Coulson go on ahead with the supplies.

“That was…cruel,” Natasha notes. When he says nothing in return she asks, “Everything okay, Cap?”

“Other than me being a complete idiot? Everything is peachy.” And that’s when the six men who have surrounded them raise their weapons and inform them that Fury would like a word.

Cap raises his hands and shakes his head. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”

xxx

“Captain Rogers,” Fury greets them with a large Cheshire-cat grin. “So happy to see you. Would you like some tea? Perhaps an apple? I’m sure Clint wants one.” He throws a shiny red apple to the pilot.

Clint catches it and looks at it warily. “Is it poisoned?”

“Poisoned? Would I poison you?”

“Yes,” all three of them reply.

Fury frowns in mock sadness. “That hurts my feelings. It really does.”

All of this kindness is making Steve nervous. He looks around but doesn’t see anything unusual. “What do you want, Fury?”

“Who says I want anything? Maybe I just want to have a nice chat with my old war buddies.”

Natasha tilts her head and raises her eyebrow.

Fury examines his nails. “I may have a job that’s right up your alley.”

“A job?” Steve asks wondering what the catch is. “Anything like the last job you decided to hang us out to dry with?”

“No. This one’s real easy. There’s a supplier who needs to ship some goods off-world. He already has a buyer. He just needs transportation. And your ship is,” he makes a face, “operational.”

“What’s wrong with the goods?” Cap asks.

“Nothing. It’s just not strictly legal to sell them off-world.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Clint says.

“Oh, it is,” Fury assures him. “Easy as pie.”

Natasha asks the obvious question. “If it’s so easy, why aren’t you doing it?”

Fury scowls. “The supplier is a bit highfalutin. Thinks himself too important to deal with the likes of me. So I thought to myself, who else has an overinflated view of their morality. And well, Captain America immediately came to mind.” He sees the unhappy look on Steve’s face and smiles. “Yes yes. I know Captain America is dead and all that other bullshit you tell people. But admit it, you still think yourself the paragon of virtue, holding yourself to a higher standard than the rest of us mere mortals.”

“What’s the cut?” Steve asks. They are too desperate for money to turn down any jobs, even ones from Fury.

“I get a finders fee of 30%.”

“Ten,” Steve tells him.

“Twenty,” Fury counters.

“Fifteen.”

“Eighteen.”

Natasha rolls her eyes. If Steve says 16 and a half, she may have to shoot both of them. Luckily, the Captain agrees to 18. “So how do we make contact?” she asks.

Fury opens a drawer and pulls out two tickets. “There is a ball tonight that the highest in society will be attending. You can be sure he’ll be there. And I just happened to procure two tickets. The rest is up to you.”

Clint asks how they’ll know who he is.

“He’ll be the white drunk guy in the hoverchair. Goes by the name Charles Xavier. Fancies himself a professor. Just get Black Widow a slinky dress, and you’re all set.”

“I uh,” Clint begins. He’s not sure he wants Natasha going to a fancy party in a slinky dress. But he also knows that telling that to Natasha might just guarantee she’ll go. “Nevermind.”

Steve takes the tickets and thanks Fury.

xxx

Tony is in the Engine Room tinkering with his Iron Man suit, his back to the entrance. He is wearing headphones with the music turned up really loud to drown out the noises that are both outside and in his head.

Steve knocks on the frame of the entrance and gets no reaction. “Tony,” he calls out, shifting the box under his arm. Again no reaction. “Tony!”

The engineer’s head comes up as though he heard something. But then he goes right back to what he was doing.

The Captain finally walks up and pulls up on one of the ear pieces. “Tony.”

“Lao TYEN yeh! What?!” A box gets shoved in front of him. He opens it apprehensively and finds the grey suit from the window. He looks up at Steve for an explanation, taking off the headphones so that he can actually hear it.

“We got a job. Requires us to go to a ball. Figured you might know enough about that sort of thing to make us seem like we fit in. You up for it?”

“Uh, yeah.” He looks down at the suit and feels the cloth. It’s not the best made suit, but it’s passable. More importantly, he knows this is Steve’s way of apologizing.

“Good. We leave in just over four hours.”

“Cap?” Tony calls, stopping Steve from leaving. “You’re still an ass.”

“Never said I wasn’t. Also doesn’t change the fact that you’re more of an ass than I am.”

“Agreed.”

“Good.” Steve hesitates. “Parties like this, do they have dancing?”

“Sure do. Why? You wanna take me for a spin on the dance floor?”

“No. It’s just…Doesn’t matter,” Steve decides. “It’s not like I’ll be doing any dancing anyway.” The only two people he’d want to dance with won’t be there.

Tony smiles at him, pretending not to see the sadness in his eyes. “Tell you what, I’ll do enough dancing for both of us.”

xxx

The man in front of Aldrich Killian and Virginia Potts tries to sneak a gun into the ball. He fails thanks to a detection system that identifies and creates an image of any metal worn by people passing through. Once his gun is checked in, he and his wife are announced and enter the party.

Aldrich and Virginia pass through without incident. They are announced, and several people turn their heads to look at them. They see Aldrich in an elaborate black tuxedo with tails, a white shirt, and a red bow tie. Virginia is in a slinky blue backless gown. Her hair is up in intricate braids and curls. She glides elegantly down the stairs and across the floor.

“See?” Aldrich tells her. “You are the most beautiful woman here.”

She smiles sweetly and thanks him. Then she says hello to several acquaintances, all of whom she knows by name. Some are genuinely kind. Others are only pretending. It doesn’t upset her. She lives on a ship with Tony after all. If she can handle him, she can easily handle the passive-aggressive behavior of these people.

Aldrich takes two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter and hands one to his Companion. “To your beauty,” he says.

“To your gallantry,” she replies and clinks her glass against his. They drink.

“I hope my gallantry isn’t the only thing about me you appreciate,” he says.

“Not at all. You have many fine qualities.”

“I’m very glad you think so, because I was hoping to convince you to remain here…permanently.”

Virginia leans in conspiratorially. “I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure we’ll need to leave the party eventually.”

Aldrich chuckles. “I meant Kree.”

“Oh, is that what you meant.” It’s obvious that she knew it all along. “Kree is nice, but I’m not sure there’s enough business here for me. Besides, I rather like my shuttle and the chance to go to the outer worlds.”

“You are far too beautiful to be wasting your talents on those gos se worlds.”

“Aldrich,” she chastises. “Language.”

“What? Gos se? But those planets are gos se. They don’t deserve you. You should remain here with me.” He takes her hand. “Be my personal Companion. Let me take care of you.”

There is some sort of kerfuffle at the entrance that they both ignore. It’s amazing how many people try to bring in firearms when it has been clearly noted they are not allowed.

“Aldrich,” Virginia begins, clearly about to say no.

“Virginia, at least think about it. I could give you a wonderful life.”

“I know you could. And Kree is a beautiful place. But, and I know you may not believe me, I love my ship. I love the freedom it brings me.”

He shakes his head. “A gos se ship taking you to gos se planets.”

“That’s unfair. The people on that ship are lovely. They may not be of the same social class as those here, but they have their own charms. If you met them, you’d see.”

The announcer’s voice calls. “Captain Steve Rogers and Mr. Anthony Edward Howard.”

Virginia’s head whips around at the mention of the first name. “Gos se,” she breathes when she sees the two men then immediately downs the rest of her champagne.

Tony is all smiles in his shimmery grey suit. He waves at the crowd. Steve is less comfortable in his blue pinstripe. They’ve just arrived and things have already been less than easy. The kerfuffle had been them trying to explain to Security that the metal the machine identified was part of Tony’s chest and couldn’t be removed…at least not without killing him.

The Captain looks over the room. “If I had known it was going to be such a pain in the ass to get you in, I would have asked Natasha.”

“I love you, too, Cap.”

“So is your last name really Howard?” Steve asks.

“Nope.”

“Didn’t think so. Keep an eye out for a drunk white guy in a hoverchair.”

“I think I see him,” Tony says immediately.

“Where?”

The engineer points, “Over by the cheese. The real cheese.”

Steve looks over and only sees maybe four people, none of whom are in hoverchairs. “I’m pretty sure that’s just the food buffet.”

“Maybe I should check it out. Ooh. Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look,” Tony says rapidly turning around to face the opposite direction. “They have shrimp with dipping butter. Dipping butter,” he repeats in a harsh, excited whisper.

“Fine,” Steve says. “Go on. Just don’t make yourself sick.”

“I love my Captain,” Tony says and kisses him on the cheek. Then he’s off to the food buffet, grabbing champagne and winking at fellow party guests along the way.

Steve starts walking through the crowd, nodding every so often, trying to find his contact. He really doesn’t like these things. And somehow the people who stare and smile at him only make it worse.

xxx

Phil Coulson has coerced Bruce and Thor into a game of cards. The bets are the various chores they have to perform - cooking, dishes, garbage, septic vac. Thor is dealing but ends up losing the hand to Coulson. The Shepherd takes the scraps of paper that are at the center of the table and moves them to him.

“Look at all these chores I don’t have to do,” Coulson says. Bruce and Thor exchange a look, the scientist blushing slightly before looking down and grabbing the cards.

Loki is looking through a box with some canned goods. He picks one up and stares at it before ripping the label off. “It’s there. It’s always there even if we can’t see,” he mumbles.

It’s Bruce’s deal.

“The party is most likely a buffet,” Thor tells them. “Delectable food just laid out for you to partake in. And champagne. There is always champagne at those parties.”

“Sounds like you miss it,” Bruce says. He tries to imagine what Thor must have looked like all dressed up.

“The food? Yes. The people? I miss my friends and my parents. But other than that, I do not miss most of the people nor the protocols. There are societal rules around every aspect of a party like that. My friends and I used to attempt to sneak out about halfway through. It didn’t always work.”

“Yeah, well, I prefer the simple life,” the Shepherd tells them. Give me a nice small party with good friends and good conversation.”

“I agree,” Bruce says. “Though I wouldn’t mind some fresh food for a change.”

“These are the ones,” Loki says glaring at a package of crackers. “Looking so innocuous. But they’re staring. Plotting and staring from the corners where the eye can’t see. But I see you,” he says squeezing the package until the crackers inside begin to break. “I see you with your teeth and your claws, trying to force me back. I won’t go. Do you hear? I won’t!”

“Loki?” Thor asks as his little brother becomes more animated. He gets up and goes to the young man. He puts his hand on the package of Dark Phoenix crackers. “Let it go, Brother. I am here,” he says, laying his arm around him. “You are safe.”

“There is no safety.”

The hand moves, just happening to cover the label of the crackers. “Loki! Stop! For the love of Mother.”

Green eyes look to see the source of the familiar voice. He loosens his grip on the package. “I’m sorry.” His green eyes fill with tears. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.”

Thor pulls him into a hug. “I know. It’s fine.”

Coulson and Bruce look through the box of goods. “He didn’t hurt anything,” Coulson says. “We’ll just have a few mystery meals.” He holds up one of the cans that no longer has a label. “It’ll make it more exciting.”

Bruce notes that the crackers will taste just as good whether they are whole or smashed. “So no worries there either.” He gives the brothers a small smile.

Loki nods and agrees to go back to his room with Thor.

xxx

Clint and Natasha are out of breath and sweaty. The sheets are tangled about them.

“You aren’t upset Steve chose to take Tony instead of you?” Clint asks.

“Nope,” Nat replies feeling wonderfully relaxed. She lays her head on his chest. “You?”

“Me? No. I like our parties better. I know everyone on the guest list, and I’m familiar with the dance.”

“You certainly are,” she replies as her eyes close.

“Although I am a little jealous about the food,” he adds.

“There’s a joke in there somewhere about you eating me, but I’m just too tired to find it.”

“That’s okay. You rest up. ‘Cause I’m definitely going to want a round two.”

“Mmm. I think we should try to break our old record.”

“You sure you wanna do that? Could be dangerous.”

“Just give me 15 minutes,” she tells him. “Then I’m all yours.”

Clint smiles. “Does this mean I get to be on top this time?”

“Maybe,” she teases then kisses his chest.

“I promise I’ll still respect you if you do.”

“Or you could just flip me over instead of getting my permission.”

“I could,” Clint agrees. “But see the thing is I kinda want you to say no. It’s easier when you do all the work.”

“Oh, it is?” she says, lifting her head to look at him. “Well maybe I don’t want to do all the work.”

“You love doing all the work. Always have. And I love letting you do it. That’s why we’re so good together.”

Nat smiles down at him. “I love you, you big lug.”

“I love you, too, you badass.”

She lies back down on his chest. “Twelve minutes,” she mumbles.

“I’m going to ask.”

“I’m going to say no.”

“Good.” He closes his eyes and immediately falls asleep knowing she’ll wake him when she’s ready.

xxx

Steve finally spots the guy. His hair is long, about to his jaw. He wears a powder blue suit, a beard, and a dour expression that only changes slightly when he spots a pretty girl. There’s a drink in his hand that is exchanged at a frequency that reminds him of Tony, and he looks over the assemblage as though he doesn’t want to be there. 

Charles is talking to a man covered in blue fir. The Captain has never seen the like, and he’s curious as all get-out. But talking to blue fir isn’t the mission. He grabs some food and waits until Mr. Xavier is alone.

He catches sight of Tony dancing with a pretty girl, both holding champagne as he flashes her his best smile. Steve is glad the engineer is having fun.

Finally blue fur moves away, and Steve moves in. “Fine party,” he says.

Charles looks up at the man who addressed him. “I suppose.” There is something familiar about the tall blond man. “Do I know you?”

“Not as of yet. Captain Steve Rogers,” he says holding out his hand. It’s taken with some hesitation.

“Professor Charles Xavier. Your name sounds familiar, Captain Rogers.” That makes him curious, cautious. He looks at the tall blond with even more interest and apprehension.

Steve swears he can feel someone in his head. “What…? Stop.”

“Interesting. An associate of Nick Fury, and yet you dislike him so.” He downs half his drink.

“Associate is a bit of an overstatement, and dislike doesn’t nearly cover it. How much did you see?”

“Enough to not turn you away immediately, Captain America.”

“Starting to think maybe I should walk away.”

“You won’t. You need the money too much.”

Fuck. Steve wonders just how much this guy saw and if he’s just put Thor and Loki in danger.

“You don’t trust me,” Charles notes. “I should apologize. I don’t normally enter people’s heads without permission or at all if I can help it. But you intrigued me.”

“Remind me never to intrigue you again,” Cap says. “So you know why I’m here. You willing to deal?”

“Are you always so direct?”

“Usually.”

“Good. One of the things I can’t stand about Fury are his little games.”

Steve’s brow furrows. “But you can see through them.”

Charles gives him a tired smile. “He doesn’t know that.”

Tony walks up then. “Cap, you have to try the stuffed mushrooms,” he says as he sticks a plate under Steve’s nose. “Oh, hello.”

“Hello,” Charles replies.

“You must be the guy.” He moves the plate away from Cap’s nose.

“I am indeed. You look familiar.”

Cap decides to prevent any more unwelcome intrusions. “You try to get in his head, we walk away.”

“You’re a telepath,” Tony realizes, suddenly sober and alert.

“Among other things,” Charles confirms. “Don’t spread it around.”

Tony shrugs. “Sure. Whatever. We’ve all got secrets.”

Aldrich walks up to them, Virginia in tow. “Hello, Charles. I hope these…men aren’t bothering you.”

“Not at all, Aldrich,” Charles says, his voice far more pleasant than his eyes.

Tony turns on his winning smile and looks at the man holding Pepper’s hand. “So you’re the infamous Aldrich Killian.”

Aldrich smiles back uncertainly. “And you are?”

“A friend of Pepper’s. Oh, sorry, Virginia.” He turns to her, and his heart stops. She is the epitome of everything that’s good in the ‘verse. “Pepper, you’re looking lovely.”

“Thank you, Tony.”

“You know this man?” Aldrich says with disgust.

Virginia smiles, hiding her nervousness very well. “I know both these men. This is Captain Rogers. He’s the man I rent my shuttle from. And this is his engineer Tony.”

“I’d say it was a pleasure,” Tony begins, “but we’d both know that’d be a lie. You know Pepper, sorry Virginia is far too radiant for you to keep her all to yourself. Would you mind if I take her for a spin?” He pauses. “Only on the dance floor of course.” He smiles and takes Pepper’s free hand.

Charles smiles pleasantly, a glimmer of roguish flirtation coming into his eyes. “You do look radiant, Ms. Potts. Had I legs that could, I would have asked you to dance long ago. And not just on the dance floor,” he adds with a wink. He turns to Aldrich expectantly. “Well, Aldrich? Will you allow her one dance away from you?”

“So long as you bring her back unsoiled,” he tells Tony with a displeased smile.

“Wouldn’t want to soil something you paid such good money for,” Tony responds. He shoves his plate at Aldrich and walks Pepper to the dance floor.

“It seems you’ve lost your prize, Aldrich,” Charles says as the man looks sourly at the retreating couple.

Steve can’t let that slide. “Virginia is not a prize. She’s a person.”

“I think you mean she’s a tenant,” Aldrich replies. “But perhaps she won’t be that for long.”

Steve doesn’t like how he said that, and he can’t imagine Pepper leaving Avenger, not while Tony is still there.

xxx

“You’re an ass,” Pepper tells Tony as he guides her across the floor.

The dance is one of those old-fashioned ones where couples separate and come back together in a predefined series of steps. It’s been a while, but his feet still remember the moves. “I just rescued you from a horrible, ugly person. How does that make me an ass?”

“Well, you insulted him. That doesn’t help me any, just so you know.”

They separate for a moment. When they are together again, Tony says, “Sorry but he doesn’t deserve you. I don’t care how much money he has.” He looks at her with his soulful brown eyes and gives her a small smile. “You deserve better, Pepper. You deserve…”

This conversation is becoming much too heavy. Luckily they have to move apart again. Pepper speaks first when they re-join. “What are you and Steve doing here?” she asks to change the subject.

“Trying to get work. Wouldn’t want to have to increase your rent. What do you know about Charles Xavier? Besides him being a telepath…supposedly.”

Her eyes grow large at the question. “There had been rumors, but no ones been able to confirm it,” she tells him. “He’s intelligent, from old money, has a good reputation. Rumor has it he used to run a school, but there was a falling out or something with a former student.” Pepper is happy for the distraction. Dancing with Tony makes it difficult to concentrate. They part for another moment. “Supposedly it had to do with the Alliance wanting to take the school over,” she continues as though they had never been separated. “He was dead set against it. His former student was all for it. He ended up leaving the school and came here. Now he breeds cattle, very special cattle from what I understand.”

“How so?”

“He’s a geneticist. His cattle have the tenderest meat in all the known worlds. It’s highly prized.” 

Tony nods, finding that very interesting. “So why aren’t you with him instead of Aldrich?” He says the name like he’s going to vomit on the A.

“Because Aldrich is the one who hired me, as you well know,” she says as he expertly takes her through the dance, his hand against the small of her back just above the hem of her dress. It’s more intoxicating than the champagne.

“I don’t see what you see in him…besides the money.”

Another separation, this one lasting only a moment.

“It isn’t just about the money, Tony. So is Professor Xavier hiring you or what?”

“I hope Professor Xavier is hiring us. I assume Professor Xavier is hiring us. Honestly, I prefer to leave that part to Cap.” He smiles at her as he twirls her around.

“That’s enough,” Aldrich says interrupting. He grabs Virginia’s hand. “She’s _my_ Companion.”

“Paying for her time doesn’t make her yours,” Tony points out.

“Actually, it does. And I’m going to have my way with her in every way possible.” He gives a smug smile. “And do you want to know why? Because I can. Because this,” Aldrich says moving his hand to her waist and pulling her roughly against him, “belongs to me.”

Tony’s fist makes contact with the asshole’s nose before he even realizes it’s happening. But damn it feels good.

“Tony!” Pepper cries as Aldrich remains on the floor stunned.

Cap is immediately by Tony’s side. Xavier is there, too, more curious than anything.

He gets up and pulls down on his jacket. A couple of men surround him and brush him off. He smiles. “I accept.”

“Good.” Tony replies. 

“Accept what?” Steve asks.

“His challenge,” Aldrich replies.

Charles explains that by hitting Aldrich, Tony has challenged the man to a duel. 

“Don’t worry, Cap. I got this,” Tony assures him.

“A duel,” Steve repeats to ensure he heard correctly.

“Yes.” The Professor continues, “They will meet at dawn and fight each other with swords until one of them is dead.

“Swords? Did you say swords?” Tony asks, concern on his face. “As in long pointy things?”

“Yes,” Aldrich says happily.

“Swords,” he wants to verify again. “Not guns.” He had expected it to be guns. Why wouldn’t it be guns? All the best duels were with guns. Every planet he’s ever dueled on did it with guns. What the heck kind of backwards place is Kree anyway?

“Swords,” Aldrich and Charles confirm.

Virginia sees the surprise and fear on the engineer’s face. “Tony didn’t know,” she tells her date. “And obviously he’s an idiot. Let’s just pretend this didn’t happen. Okay?”

“Pepper…” Steve corrects, “Virginia is right. There’s no need for bloodshed.”

“There is every need for bloodshed,” Aldrich says. “Although I can understand why this peasant in a cheap suit would be too frightened to face me.”

“I’m not frightened. Just name the time and place, and I’ll be there,” Tony tells him, his ego overriding his sense of self-preservation. How hard can swords be, right?

“Tomorrow. Dawn.”

“He’ll need a Second,” Charles explains. “I’d offer my services but…” He gestures down to his legs. “Difficult to swordfight without legs,” he says ruefully and drinks.

“What do I have to do?” Steve asks.

“Prepare him. Be there for him. If he doesn’t show up, then you take his place. And at the end, you help bring his body back.” Charles downs the rest of his drink and holds up the empty glass. It’s quickly replaced.

“Don’t worry,” Aldrich tells Steve. “I’ll put your friend up in my villa. Wouldn’t want him to run away. I’ll put you up, too, if you like.”

Steve looks to Tony for some guidance but gets none. He can tell the engineer is just starting to process what is going on. “Okay, but I need to get something from my ship first. Change of clothes,” he explains. “Some toiletries.”

“The toiletries I can provide,” their future host says. “I think it’d be best if you both head straight to the villa.” Aldrich doesn’t want them getting anything from the ship that may give Tony an advantage. “When you’re ready to leave the party, my men will take you. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” He wraps Virginia’s arm around his and moves her away.

Pepper’s eyes full of anger and concern remain on Tony as she’s led to the other side of the room.

“Well that was ill-advised,” Charles says with a chuckle. “Aldrich has been in several duels. Obviously he’s never lost, most likely because he cheats.”

“Great,” Tony says.

“We’ll figure something out,” Steve assures him.

“You could always cheat back,” Charles suggests.

“I need a drink,” the engineer replies and walks away. If this could be his last night alive, he wants to get well and truly drunk.

Charles apologizes to the Captain. “If it’s any consolation, I’d like you to ship my goods. We can discuss the particulars after the duel tomorrow morning.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather discuss it now.”

xxx

Nick Fury is not happy. He was trying to be nice. He knew Steve and his crew were hurting for work. It’s one of the reasons he decided to use Cap for the job. But leave it to that band of misfits to go muck it up. And now once again he has to clean up their mess.

Yeah, okay, so maybe he didn’t help with their last mess. But those protein bars were too hot for him to fence. Besides, he knew they could handle it.

He walks up the cargo ramp with his top four associates: Maria Hill, Melinda May, Victoria Hand, and Felix Blake. When he gets to the communication controls, he turns on the internal speakers and says, “Attention Avengers crew, please get your butts to the cargo area. Thank you.” Then he shuts it off and waits.

Natasha is the first to appear. “Fury? What’s happened?” Her eyes are full of concern. She rushes down the stairs, Clint right behind her.

Bruce, Thor, and Coulson appear next coming out of the door nearest the infirmary. Loki is in the guest quarters. Thor told him to remain there until he is retrieved.

“Well, well, well,” Fury says, the slightest flicker of recognition appearing when he sees Sheppard Coulson. “I heard you added to your ranks,” he continues, turning towards Natasha.

“What is it, Fury?” she asks again.

“It seems your boys got themselves in a bit of a pickle.” He explains how Tony is now scheduled to duel with Aldrich Killian and that the Captain and the mechanic are currently guests of Mr. Killian.

“And you came here with your muscle to tell us this why?” Clint asks.

“So we wouldn’t interfere,” Natasha reasons.

“Wrong. I’m here to ensure that you do.” Fury can see the skepticism in their eyes. “Aldrich Killian has a bit of a reputation. Word is, he’s never lost a duel. His secret, according to my sources, something called Extremis.”

“Extremis?” Natasha repeats.

“There’s no such thing,” Bruce says. “It’s a myth, a lie.” He can see the question in everyone’s eyes. “It’s nanite technology that was being developed during the war after Cap switched sides. With Erskine dead, they couldn’t recreate the super soldier serum that was used on Steve. So they created nanites that could be injected into the body and repair any damage that was sustained. It also gave the recipient healing abilities and super strength among other things.”

“You just said it was a myth,” Natasha points out.

“That’s because they were never able to stabilize it. The first test subjects spontaneously combusted, took a lot of people out with them.”

“Well that little problem has been fixed,” Fury tells them. “And Killian has those nanites in his system. It kinda gives him an unfair advantage, don’t you think? And I thought you being so into fairness and all would want to give Tony a fighting chance.”

“By doing what?” Natasha asks. She doesn’t have high hopes for his answer.

“By providing him with his suit,” Fury explains.

“Or,” Clint adds, “we could pick up Cap and Tony and boogie off this planet.”

“No,” Fury disagrees. “You really couldn’t.” He makes a small hand gesture that causes his muscle to point their weapons at the crew.

“Geez, okay, fine. It was just a suggestion.”

Black Widow scowls at Hill and May, women she had admired back in the day, before turning her attention back to Fury. She asks for the particulars, squeezing every last piece of information from her old boss.

The Sheppard listens intently. When he thinks Natasha is done, he says, “So you’re proposing that one of us goes to the site of the duel and, what, hands Tony his suit? Won’t that be a bit obvious?”

“Doctor?” Fury says, turning to Bruce.

“Tony has a suit that looks like a briefcase. We could take that one to him without anyone being the wiser.”

“How do we know this man tells the truth?” Thor asks.

“Because it’s just like him,” Natasha says. “Tony is compulsive, self-destructive, narcissistic.”

“Because it’s Pepper,” Bruce explains. “He was defending Pepper.”

Nick’s eyebrow rises. “I’m not sure defending is the right word.”

“Why are you helping us?” Clint asks. His arms are crossed in front of his chest.

“I have a vested interest. I know Tony is a big reason this hunk of crap is still flying. And if this deal is to go through, I need this boat to keep flying.” 

xxx

Steve is trying to help Tony practice, but the engineer doesn’t seem like he’s even trying. “This is to the death, Tony. Do you understand that?”

“Yeah, geez. I get it. It’s not like it’s my first duel.” He sees the angry question in the blue eyes. “I thought it’d be with guns, okay?”

“Stupid,” Steve mutters under his breath. He has half a mind to return to his room. It’s the only place he can go, since their rooms are adjoining and the doors to the hallway are locked. He takes a breath. “Well it’s not with guns, Tony. It’s with swords. And if you don’t concentrate, one of these pointy things is going to be the thing that kills you.”

“I know that.” He pours himself another drink and smiles. “Don’t worry, Cap. I’ve got this. I’ve survived this far.” The alcohol is warm as it slips down his throat.

It’s false bravado, and Steve knows it. “Tony, you’re the smartest man I know. But sometimes you are such an idiot.”

“Now you sound like Pepper.”

The door to Tony’s room opens, and Virginia steps inside holding a doorknob in one hand and a sword in the other.

“Speak of the devil,” Tony mutters. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be servicing your client?”

She pretends not to hear the venom in his voice. “Aldrich had to go to bed early. He has a big day tomorrow that starts with killing you. Or have you forgotten.”

“I’ll be fine,” he mutters.

Steve tells the Companion that they’ve been practicing.

“And how’s that going?” she asks as she puts the doorknob on the short bookcase next to the door.

Both men shrug. Neither one looks happy.

Virginia places a hand on Steve’s arm and tells him to go to bed. She’ll take it from here. “Go,” she says, shooing him off with a gesture towards his room.

“Good luck,” he tells her then disappears into his room.

“Alone at last,” Tony says with a smirk.

She turns to face the engineer. “You know, if you weren’t already scheduled to die tomorrow morning, I’d kill you.”

“I’d rather you do it than him.”

Pepper can see the vulnerability in his eyes, that part of him he usually keeps hidden so well. She raises her sword. “Too bad. Now let’s see what we’re working with.” She gets into a defensive stance and waits.

Tony sighs. He downs the rest of his drink before setting down the tumbler then raises his sword. He sways a little.

“Are you drunk?” she asks in disbelief.

“Maybe a little,” he admits. “Just enough to take the edge off.”

Two seconds later, he’s disarmed and has her sword at his throat.

“You need your edge,” she tells him. Virginia takes a step back. “Again.”

“Geez. What are you my mother?”

“I’m the person trying to keep you alive.”

“And why would you do that?”

“Because apparently you don’t care enough to do it yourself,” she tells him. “Why, Tony? Why did you have to hit Aldrich?”

“Because he deserved it. He disrespected you.”

“So?” she responds. “You disrespect me all the time.”

Tony shakes his head. “No. I disrespect what you do. He disrespects you.”

“It’s the same thing, Tony.”

“No, it isn’t. You…You could be doing so much more. You’re smart, beautiful, gracious. You can handle people with remarkable ease. You should be running your own company or running a government not taking money from men so they can use you.” His hand is reaching out to her but never makes contact.

“He wants me to stay here,” she confesses.

“What? Who?”

“Aldrich. He wants me to be his personal Companion.”

Tony looks like he’s about to loose his best friend. “You can’t. Promise me, Pepp. Promise me you won’t end up with him.” He’s pleading with his eyes. “If he kills me tomorrow, fine he kills me. I won’t be happy about it, but…” He shrugs and shakes his head. “He can’t win you, too. He can’t…Please, Pepper. No matter what happens to me, promise me you won’t leave Avenger.”

“Tony…”

“I know it’s not the life you deserve, but they need you. You’re the only bit of class aboard her. Promise me, Pepper. I’ll practice and do whatever you want the rest of the night. Just promise me.”

She nods, not quite able to speak yet. Then she holds up a finger as her resolve hardens. “No more drinking,” she tells him. “And you do exactly what I tell you.”

“Yes, Mistress Virginia,” he says with a smirk. And just like that, the dangerous moment passes.

“Shut up and raise your sword.”

Virginia works with him all night. Even so, she has to leave earlier than she’d like. She knows Aldrich will be up early to prepare for the duel.

Tony thanks her, assures her he’ll win. She gives him a reassuring smile and leaves.

xxx

Fury goes with Bruce to get Tony’s briefcase suit, the Mark V. “I don’t need an escort,” Bruce tells him.

“I know. I just wanted a tour of the ship. You may want to grab your doctor bag. Odds are, Tony’ll need some medical care, assuming he survives.”

Bruce really hopes Loki is still in his room and stays there. They go down to the Infirmary so that the doctor can get a few things. He does it quickly, throwing the items into a small bag. Then he picks it and the Mark V up and leaves, leading the way back to the Cargo area.

“Who’s that?” Maria asks when they get there, gesturing behind them.

Everyone turns to see a young man with dark hair, beige skin, and green eyes standing in the doorway.

Sheppard Coulson puts a hand on Thor’s arm, a silent warning not to do anything to arouse suspicions.

“Good question,” Fury asks. “And who might you be?” he asks the stranger.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Loki answers in an accent and tone that sound more like Virginia’s than his own.

“I would.”

“Life is full of disappointment. But you already know that don’t you.” He gives a small smile as he walks forward.

“Anyone who doesn’t is either blind or lying to themselves.”

Loki runs a finger along the stranger’s jaw below the eyepatch. “Well you’re halfway to being blind. So there’s that.”

“What’s your name, kid?” Seems funny to call this guy kid considering how tall he is.

“What’s it matter?” He runs a hand up and down the lapel of the black jacket. “My name’s not who I am any more than your reputation is you. So high and mighty until you learn the truth, pretend it doesn’t tear you apart.” His words are soft, the tone almost sweet. “Staying in the shadows, manipulating everything. You create your mighty boot,” he says, puckering his lips, “stomping on your enemies like ants.”

Loki softly strokes Fury’s bottom lip with the tip of his finger and asks, “You wanna know who I am?” He steps back, his eyes hardening. “I’m a boot. And you and your entourage, you’re not even big enough to be ants.” He turns around and starts walking back to his room. “Let me know if anyone interesting arrives.” Thor and the Captain are not in danger. That’s all he cares about. The rest will handle itself. He disappears back into the interior of the ship.

Nick Fury is speechless. All he can do is look at the space where the young man had been and search through his mind for clues as to what the hell just happened.

Natasha can practically see the gears turning Fury’s head. The last thing they need is Nick Fury figuring out that they are keeping known fugitives. “So what do you think of Cap’s new boy toy?”

“Boy toy?” He looks over at Natasha. That’s not like the Captain, but he can certainly understand how the boy might have seduced the soldier.

“Yeah. We picked ‘im up on New Berlin just before the Chitauri hit. He’s a might forward, but you kind of have to be to get Cap’s attention.”

The kid is Steve’s type physically. And it probably would take someone coming on like a freight train to get the soldier’s attention. Fury smiles. “And Captain Rogers really went for it? Good for Cap. He did seem like less of a tightass this time. Guess what he needed was a tight ass that wasn’t his own.” He smiles at his own joke, his white teeth almost glowing with mirth.

Thor’s hands clench into fists, and he stares daggers at the one-eyed man.

“Looks like somebody’s jealous,” Nick notes. “What happened there, Big Guy? Cap’s boy toy choose him over you?”

“No need to rub it in,” Clint tells him.

Melinda May checks her watch. “Banner should go,” she tells Fury.

Fury nods and takes the map from Hill before handing it over to Bruce. He shows the doctor where the duel is going to be held then sends him on his way.

Natasha glares at Fury. “You can go now. We don’t need you to babysit us.”

“Sorry. Best way to ensure you don’t try to rescue Tony is to stay here and make sure you don’t.” Then he gives them a smile.

xxx

The morning is crisp in the forest clearing. Aldrich looks confident, like he is ready to take on the world. Tony looks like he didn’t get any sleep. Probably because he didn’t. He’s also feeling slightly hung over. He takes off his jacket and rolls up the sleeves of his black shirt.

Steve is there being supportive but with a stern look in his eyes. Virginia is there holding on to Aldrich’s arm, which only makes things worse. Charles Xavier is there, too. Tony isn’t sure why, but it would take too many brain cells to try to figure it out.

Aldrich is all smiles, looking far too peppy for this early in the morning. “What a beautiful morning for a duel,” he says happily.

Three swords are presented to the combatants. Tony picks first and swishes it around a few times. Aldrich selects next. He lifts up the sword and examines the blade glinting in the sunlight.

They get into position and face each other.

“Begin!” Aldrich’s man yells.

Tony strikes first, going immediately on the offensive. Aldrich just smiles and blocks each lunge. “What’s wrong, Killian? I’m better than you expected?”

Aldrich just smiles as Virginia groans from the sidelines. “He’s toying with you, stupid,” she tells him.

Killian waits for Tony to drop his guard then slices the clothes and skin over the engineer’s heart. Tony winces and takes a step back. Blood drips from the wound and onto the black shirt. Aldrich begins his attack in earnest, and it’s all Tony can do to block the strikes.

The guy is strong, really strong.

Finally Tony gets in a strike of his own. He watches in disbelief as the cut heals immediately. “What the…?” He doesn’t have time to finish the sentence, because Aldrich is attacking again. It’s all he can do to stay upright.

“Tony!”

Tony turns and sees Bruce holding a satchel and his Mark V.

“He’s using Extremis,” the doctor explains.

Aldrich slices Tony’s arm, the sixth cut he’s received. It gets the engineer’s attention again. And when Tony looks into the man’s eyes, he knows it’s true. “How did you stabilize it?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Steve gives Bruce a questioning look and gets the answer, “Fury sent me.”

“Bruce?” Tony calls. “Now!” He pushes Aldrich away with all of his strength.

Bruce slides the Mark V to his friend.

The engineer steps on the activation switch that opens the case. He put his hands in and turns the levers that assemble the suit around his body. “Now let’s play,” the mechanized voice says.

He’s too focused on the man in front of him to notice the skirmish that’s erupted on the sidelines.

Aldrich smiles wider, happy to no longer have to hide it.

Virginia’s eyes go big. “What’s going on? What does this mean?” Bruce does his best to explain it to her as Cap knocks out the last of Aldrich’s men. The soldier nods to Charles, silently thanking him for the assist. It’s the only explanation for why half the men suddenly fell unconscious. Charles nods back.

“Tony?” Steve calls.

“I got it, Cap. Duel, remember? I gotta finish it on my own.”

Iron Man shoots his repulsor beams at his opponent. Aldrich stumbles back before rushing forward and grabbing the steel-covered arm. His hand heats up and begins to melt Tony’s suit. A metal elbow to the stomach barely has any effect. Aldrich begins to glow an orange-red. He grabs the faceplate and starts to melt it, pressing Tony’s metal-encased body down, heating up the suit and shorting the repulsor beams.

“Aldrich! Stop!” Virginia yells, tears in her eyes. “I’ll stay with you. I’ll be your personal Companion. Please. Just stop,” she begs.

He looks at her, a triumphant gleam in his eye.

It’s all the distraction Tony needs. “JARVIS, coolant. Now.” He blasts it out of his chest and his free hand. 

Aldrich stumbles back, his limbs stiff from the sudden cold. He falls on his ass and sees the metal man standing above him, his handprint visible on the face of the helmet.

“Don’t do it, Killian,” Iron Man says. “Or I will give you another blast of cold and smash your sorry ass to pieces.”

He laughs and starts to get up. “Do you really believe that could hurt me? I’m beyond that. There is no scenario in which you survive this.”

Iron Man can see that he really believes it. He shoots more coolant, this time in Killian’s face. “Bruce? Any way to neutralize the nanites?”

“No clue. Best chance is to either cool or overheat.”

“Great,” Iron Man replies as JARVIS tells him he’s running out of coolant.

“You could try knocking him out,” Steve suggests, wanting to go into the fight but knowing he can’t until Tony asks. Instead he busies himself with securing Aldrich’s men.

Iron Man starts punching Aldrich in the stomach and the head. His other arm is grabbed this time and begins to be heated up. He fires a normal repulsor beam at Killian’s head. It’s enough to make the guy lose concentration and let go of his arm.

He tells JARVIS to increase the power to the repulsors by 50% then sends another blast to Aldrich’s head. The guy flies back and hits a tree. A moment later, he is getting up and preparing to run at Iron Man again.

“Got a sedative in that bag of yours?” Iron Man asks Bruce.

The doctor prepares a syringe very quickly. He tosses it to his friend as soon as it’s done. 

Iron Man plucks it out of the sky and forces the needle into his opponent before pushing down on the plunger. The chemical doesn’t work as quickly as Tony had hoped. And another series of blows are exchanged.

Aldrich’s men begin to regain consciousness only to find themselves tied up using strips of blue pinstripe cloth from the jacket of Cap’s suit.

Finally, Aldrich begins to slow down. Next thing they know, the guy is on the ground, his eyes barely open. He can see Iron Man above him, watches as the mask retracts revealing the brown eyes and intricate beard of the engineer. The metal arm is extended and pointed towards his chest.

“You’re supposed to kill him,” Charles says. “To not do so would bring dishonor on him, his family, his lineage, blah blah blah.” He shrugs. “It’s basically a huge slap in the face if you don’t.”

“Letting him survive shows you’re the better man,” Steve tells him.

It’s like a devil and an angel trying to tell him what to do, only the devil isn’t trying that hard. Tony looks down on Aldrich and decides. His arm drops. “I want you to remember today as the day a better man took you down.” Then he shoots a repulsor beam at Aldrich’s stomach. “Better but not Cap material.”

The Companion walks over and takes Tony’s arm. “I know it’s a day early, Aldrich, but I’m ending our contract. I’ll reimburse you for the time missed.”

“Bitch. You’ll never work again,” he tells her in an angry slur.

“Wrong. That’s not how it works, Aldrich. You don’t blacklist me. I blacklist you. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. No Companion will ever come near you again.”

Those are the last words Aldrich remembers before everything goes dark.

When he regains consciousness, Aldrich’s body has been purged of Extremis. Charles Xavier is there to greet him, letting him know that he deserves everything that’s happening in his life right now. “Perhaps next time you might try not acting like a complete ass,” the Professor suggests. “Though honestly I don’t expect you to actually accomplish it.”

“Virginia was mine.”

“Virginia was never yours. The fact that you can’t see that is so much of what is wrong with you. Cheers,” he says with a perky smile as he raises his tumbler in the air. He downs his drink in one gulp.

xxx

The cargo hold is full of steer, and it is glorious. Loki is sitting on one length of catwalk, listening to the sounds below. Every so often he moos back at them. 

Steve sits next to him. “Talkin’ to the steer?”

“Cattle can’t talk,” Loki informs him.

“You sure about that? They sound like they’re talking to me.”

“Cattle can’t talk,” Loki repeats.

“Didn’t I hear you saying moo?” When Loki nods as though ashamed of it, Steve looks down at the herd below and says, “Moo,” in his best impression of a steer. That brings a smile to Loki’s face, so he does it again. This time the god laughs.

Steve bumps his shoulder against that of the man sitting beside him. “I'm still real in case you were wondering.” Loki hadn’t touched him since their argument the morning before, and Steve kind of missed it. “Bruce told me you kept your cool around Fury. Said you even sounded different.”

“Moo,” Loki says to the cows, sounding much more like a steer than Steve did.

“If he comes again, just try to avoid him. He has a tendency to ask a lot of questions, and we want to keep you safe. Okay?”

Loki looks over at the Captain. “Am I your toy?”

“What? No.”

“Would you play with me if I were?”

Steve swallows and looks intently at the steer. He can feel a blush heating his face. Not for the first time does he wonder if Loki understands how sexual what he’s saying sounds. “Heard you had an altercation with some crackers,” he says instead.

“Some things should remain dead,” Loki replies.

“I’m not mad,” the Captain tells him. “Crackers whole or broken taste the same.”

“You lose bits of the broken ones, crumbs that scatter in the wind, lost forever.”

Steve puts an arm around him, feels him tense at the touch at first. But then the head leans against the Captain’s shoulder. “Can you forgive me?” Steve asks.

“Will they be slaughtered?”

“The steer? Probably. Feed a lot of people when they are. That’s good eatin’ right there. You ever eat steak? What am I saying. You’re a Prince. Of course you have.”

“They weren’t asked to be sacrificed,” Loki notes.

“True. Doesn’t make it any less sacred.”

“Or stinky,” he replies, wrinkling his nose.

“Or stinky,” Steve agrees.

“Stinky is an understatement,” Tony says as he limps past them on his way to Virginia’s shuttle, tapping Cap’s head as he passes. The engineer is bruised and sore, and it’s taking more strength than he anticipated to make the trip.

When he gets to the shuttle door, Tony knocks. Virginia is surprised to see him standing there in his red jumpsuit. “Tony. Are you okay?”

“Fine. A few bumps and bruises, but Bruce says they’ll heal.”

She steps out onto the catwalk and leans back against the railing. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t die.”

“That makes two of us,” he says, giving her a half smile. “I’m glad you stayed…with us.”

“Well, after Aldrich’s behavior…”

“You were really going to stay with him to save me?” His deep brown eyes can’t hide the importance of the question.

“I would have done it for any of you,” she replies. “Cap. Bruce. Nat. Anyone,” she says, looking at her hands.

“Oh. Right.”

“Glad I didn’t have to, though. Someone has to look after Bruce,” she reasons.

“Right. Bruce,” Tony repeats as he leans forward on the railing and looks down at the steer. His voice reveals a twinge of disappointment.

Virginia wonders if she made the right decision. Whatever this is with Tony, it feels dangerous, something she could drown in if she lets herself. She vows not to let herself. She turns around and leans forward on the railing, too. Her eyes are drawn to Cap and Loki. It seems odd but sweet, and she’s glad Steve has someone to care about. She just wishes it was someone less…unstable.

“In case you were wondering, Killian won’t be a threat anymore,” Tony tells her. “Bruce and I neutralized the Extremis nanites. We destroyed all of his notes concerning it, and Professor Xavier erased the memory of it from his mind. So hopefully that’s the end of that. Hopefully.”

“Won’t that damage his brain? Is that even legal?” she asks.

“No and Kree’s laws don’t cover telepathic invasion. Alliance laws, however, could be a problem. But Charles said he can handle it.”

Virginia nods, not feeling particularly comfortable about any of it. Her eyes return to Cap and Loki. “Think Cap can?”

“Cap’s busy with his special project. Plus, he knows how dangerous Extremis is, especially in the hands of someone like Killian. And he certainly doesn’t want the Alliance to get it.”

It makes sense. The greater good and all that.

“Sorry I defended your honor,” Tony says. “I promise it won’t happen again.”

“I’m surprised it happened the first time.”

Tony shrugs. “I blame the food. And the champagne. Damn that food was good.”

Virginia smiles. This is more like it. This is the Tony she knows and…she knows and expects. “I’ve had better,” she teases.

“I bet you have.”

“Company wasn’t as good, though. I’ll take Bruce over any of those people any day.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know. You do realize Cap and I were two of those people.”

“Yes. I know,” she replies.

“Just making sure.”

xxx

Steve wakes up content. They are running a job, a good job, one they’re getting paid for. His family is all back on the ship, and maybe, just maybe Tony and Pepper will admit they love each other. Maybe. He doubts it.

He stretches then gets up, turning on the light. First thing is to empty the bladder which he does with relish. As he washes his hands his door opens, and Loki comes down the ladder. The young man turns and stops in stunned silence when he sees the Captain wearing only light blue boxer shorts.

“Good morning, Loki,” Steve says as he dries his hands and walks to stand in front of him.

A tentative hand reaches out, the palm finally coming to rest over the Captain’s heart. He looks up into the earnest blue eyes as the heartbeat pulses against his palm. “You’re real,” he breathes.

Steve puts his hand over the one on his chest and runs his thumb slowly back and forth over the fingers there. “So are you.” He sees the handsome face flush before the young man turns to leave. “Stay,” he says, not letting go of the hand.

Loki turns back around. “You said not to.”

“I was wrong.” Steve leads the young man to the bed and settles him between the sheets. He goes to the other side, all plans of heading to the bridge to draw gone from his mind. He lies on top of the covers and takes Loki’s hand in his. Then he shuts off the light. His hand gets a squeeze. He squeezes it back.

“Thor,” Loki’s voice says in the darkness.

“I’m on top of the covers,” Steve says. “And we’ll tell him you sleep better this way. Do you…sleep better this way?” He hears Loki shift before he feels the body curl around his arm, the head rest against his shoulder.

“Yes.”

Steve takes slow, deliberate breaths trying to get his heart under control. He shouldn’t be feeling like this. He needs to stay in control. Loki needs him to stay in control, to not push, to just be there. So that’s what he’s going to do.

He can feel Loki’s heartbeat against his arm now that his own has steadied. He can hear Loki’s breath deepen. That’s when he realizes how truly fucked he is.


End file.
